Water revealed as molecular mirror when measuring low concentrations of sugar with near infrared light

• Quick and accurate measurement of saccharides at millimolar concentration level.
• NIR technique to identify & quantify saccharide solutes at millimolar concentration.
• Water molecular rearrangement caused by changes of solute can be used for modeling.
• Quantification of identical sugars in mixtures with NIR at millimolar level.
• Water absorption region gives the most information in highly diluted solutions.

Near infrared spectroscopy is an overtone spectroscopy regarded as a quick and non-destructive method that provides analytical solutions for components that represent approximately 1% or more of the total mass of the investigated composite samples. Aquaphotomics offers the possibility for disentanglement of information remaining hidden in the spectra when conventional data evaluation methods are used, since this concept utilizes changes of the water structure induced by the measured solute as specific molecular vibrations at water bands. Here, near infrared technique and aquaphotomics are applied for non-destructive identification and quantification of mono- and di-saccharide solutes at 100–0.02 mM concentration that is accepted as unachievable with near infrared spectroscopy. The results presented in this study support the aquaphotomics' water molecular mirror concept that explores spectral changes related to water molecular rearrangements caused by minute changes of the solutes in the aqueous systems. The method provides quick and accurate alternative for classical analytical measurements of saccharides even at millimolar concentration levels.

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