Detection of 3-Carene in mango using a quartz crystal microbalance sensor

The exacting technology of piezoelectric aroma sensor has engendered a great hope for determining the ripening aroma of mango (Mangifera indica L.). 3-Carene is one of the most important ripeness indicating aromas of mango. Detection of 3-Carene content in mango is very important because fruit aroma and flavor characteristics are of key importance in determining consumer acceptance in commercial fruit markets. quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) transduces changes in mass on the crystal surface into measurable shifts in resonant frequency due to its sensitive solution-surface interface measurement capability. In this exploration, poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS) coated QCM sensor has been developed to sense the aroma of 3-Carene volatile in Indian mango varieties namely Langda and Chausa cultivars of mango. Empirically the performance of the sensor has been validated by characterizing the sensor through different studies viz. sensitivity, selectivity, repeatability, reproducibility, period of reusability, etc. The sensor was found to be selective to 3-Carene mostly, unlike other dominant aromas present in mango. Validation of the proposed sensor with real mangoes are carried out by correlating the frequency deviation of the sensor with the estimations of 3-Carene obtained from gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS).