Evaluation of solid-phase microextraction for the isotopic analysis of volatile compounds produced during fermentation by lactic acid bacteria

The use of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) for the analysis of flavor compounds produced by lactic acid bacteria has been evaluated using both liquid and headspace sampling modes. Initially, it was necessary to optimize the conditions for the SPME extraction of flavors-diacetyl and acetoin-in standard aqueous solutions. The effects of salt, headspace versus liquid sampling, and coating phase were tested. Second, the suitability of the coupling of SPME and gas chromatography-combustion interface-IRMS (GC-C-IRMS) for the determination of delta(13)C values was assessed. It is shown that neither the analyte concentration nor the period of fiber exposure has an effect on the delta(13)C values. Finally, having verified that there are no matrix effects from the fermentation medium, it is reported for the first time that flavor compounds can be extracted directly from culture supernatant by SPME and their delta(13)C values can be obtained by GC-C-IRMS.