Accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), also known as pressurized solvent extraction (PSE), is a method for
extracting various chemicals from a complex solid or semisolid sample
matrix
Matrix most commonly refers to:
* ''The Matrix'' (franchise), an American media franchise
** '' The Matrix'', a 1999 science-fiction action film
** "The Matrix", a fictional setting, a virtual reality environment, within ''The Matrix'' (franchi ...
. The process uses high temperature and pressure, which results in the extraction taking less time and requiring less solvent, and possibly also giving better analyte recovery, than traditional methods that use less extreme conditions.
The elevated temperature is employed to increase extraction efficiency of the analyte of interest and the elevated pressure is used to keep the solvent in a liquid state as the temperature is increased above its boiling point.
An automated system for the process was developed by
Dionex
Dionex Corporation is an American company based in Sunnyvale, California. It develops, manufactures, sells, and services analytical chromatography systems for separating, isolating, and identifying the components of chemical mixtures. Such equipmen ...
,
a company owned by
Thermo Fisher Scientific
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is an American supplier of scientific instrumentation, reagents and consumables, and software services. Based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Thermo Fisher was formed through the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Ther ...
.
Method
The extraction cell is filled with the solid sample to be examined and placed in a temperature-controllable oven. After adding the solvent, the cell is heated at constant pressure (adjustable between 0.3 and 20 MPa) up to a maximum temperature of 200°C and kept at constant conditions for a while so that equilibrium can be established. The extract is then transferred to a sample tube. A sample often goes through several extraction cycles. Finally, the extraction cell is rinsed with solvent, the rinsing valve is opened and the cell and all lines are rinsed with nitrogen and the apparatus is prepared for further extractions.
Applications
Accelerated solvent extraction has found many applications in the food industry, including in:
* The testing of dietary seafoods for arsenic content
* Extraction of
catechin
Catechin is a flavan-3-ol, a type of secondary metabolite providing antioxidant roles in plants. It belongs to the subgroup of polyphenols called flavonoids.
The name of the catechin chemical family derives from '' catechu'', which is the ta ...
s from green tea samples
* Authentication of natural vanilla flavors
* The analysis of
terpenoid
The terpenoids, also known as isoprenoids, are a class of naturally occurring organic chemicals derived from the 5-carbon compound isoprene and its derivatives called terpenes, diterpenes, etc. While sometimes used interchangeably with "terpenes ...
s and
sterol
Sterol is an organic compound with formula , whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the g ...
s in tobacco
See also
*
Supercritical fluid extraction Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is the process of separating one component (the extractant) from another (the matrix) using supercritical fluids as the extracting solvent. Extraction is usually from a solid matrix, but can also be from liquids. ...
*
Superheated water
Superheated water is liquid water under pressure at temperatures between the usual boiling point, and the critical temperature, . It is also known as "subcritical water" or "pressurized hot water". Superheated water is stable because of overpr ...
References
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Analytical chemistry
Extraction (chemistry)