Increasing electronic nose recognition ability by sample laser irradiation

In this article a method to increase the capability of an electronic nose to discriminate between a priori similar odours is presented. Olive oil is analyzed because it is well known that the characteristics of its aroma impair in many cases the discrimination between different kinds of olive oils especially when they are from similar geographic regions.In the present work the improvement of the electronic nose performance for the above-mentioned discrimination by a non-destructive method of IR laser vaporization of the sample is studied. Laser vaporization has also been performed at two different IR wavelengths to analyze the effect of laser radiation absorption of the sample on the electronic nose selectivity.