Application of Multivariate Analyses to NIR Spectra of Gelatinized Starch

Abstract

This paper describes an approach for studying collections of near-infrared spectra by using multivariate analyses. The method is illustrated with the use of two sets of spectra of gelatinized starch, recorded in the transmission mode between 650 and 1235 nm. The first set consisted of 99 spectra of partly gelatinized samples (from 24.5 to 100% gelatinization). Application of principal component analysis (PCA) made it possible to identify an outlying sample and to identify the importance of spectral variations due to the effect of scattering. Hence, it was possible to eliminate the scatter variations. From principal component regression (PCR), it was shown that the relationship between corrected spectra and gelatinization was not linear. Discriminant analysis was applied to seven classes of starch gelatinization. Only five samples out of 98 were incorrectly identified. The second set of samples was designed for studying the effect of temperature variation on the spectra of fully gelatinized starch samples. It was possible to show from PCR that the relationship between the spectra and temperature was linear. The “spectral patterns” assessed from discriminant analysis of starch gelatinization and from the PCR of temperature were compared.