Type 1 Pilot Action:
Brigita Femec – Bee Venom Analysis
Goal: Mrs. Femec anticipates working with bee venom as a component of her products. In order to get a quantitative assessment of the melittin, different samples need to be analysed with respect to the grade – medical or standard quality.
Approach: Three different samples were provided, labelled i) last year, ii) morning and iii) evening. The standard method for these analysations would be high-performance liquid chromatography (HPCL). As none of the consortium can provide this technique, other methods were applied. Raman spectroscopy as well as infrared approaches were used to rate the samples. Additionally, PCCL’s horizontal ART was applied.
Results: All samples were analysed with the above methods. With Raman spectroscopy no characteristic peaks could be found due to high background fluorescence. Using ATR IR spectroscopy, variances could be found, especially with the first derivative. Highest deviations were found around 1100cm-1. The horizontal ATR measurements at PCCL confirmed the results from SAL. For absolute quantification reference samples would be needed but were not available.
Company Statement: Ms. Femec thanks for the valuable approach, which she would like to pursue further to develop her products.
Involved Partners: CTR/SAL, PCCL