Desarrollo de una metodología para la determinación de ácido aconítico en el jugo de caña de azúcar

Abstract

Sugar cane and sugar have occupied an important place for years in the whole industrial sector of Valle del Cauca. During the grinding step of the sugar manufacturing process, the solid part and liquid part of the plant are separated to obtain sugarcane juice in which we can find different metabolites of interest between them we find aconítico acid. This acid is a natural organic acid present in highest concentration in this juice and is primarily responsible for the pH of the juice that is between 5.3 and 5.8 and is a metabolite of high commercial interest due to their ability to generate cross-linking agents and plasticizers. By the above, we find aconitic acid an opportunity to improve the utilization of this crop. In order to assess this metabolite in the juice of sugar cane, we developed a methodology using ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) coupled to an ELSD detector and using a BEH Amide column with hydrophilic interactions (HILIC). Due to the organic nature of the metabolite, which has three hydroxyl groups ionizable, we used SCREEN-A cartridge for performing a sample by solid phase extraction (SPE) based on the interchangeability between the positively charged of the quaternary amine and the negative charges present in the ionized molecule of acid. Using an Aldrich Chemistry standard with 98% purity and with the aid of a calibration curve with concentrations of 100, 200.350, 400, 600 and 800 ppm were identified a concentration of 2016ppm (0.2% w / v) in the juice diluted cane.