The Foss Group has released a new system for acid hydrolysis of food and feed samples - the Soxtec 2047 SoxCap System, based on Tecator technology.
Total fat analysis has until now been extremely time consuming, especially when solvent pre-extraction before hydrolysis is required. The new patented technique is based on the SoxCap capsule's filter ability to hold the fat present in the sample during hydrolysis and release it during solvent extraction in the Soxtec Systems.
The company claims that its filter design ensures filtration and washing of the samples within minutes and that pre-extraction is no longer required.
The system performs hydrolysis, filtration and washing without any sample transfer in a closed vessel, ensuring no contact with hot hydrolysis solutions. During hydrolysis the acid fumes are removed automatically. Batch handling guarantees minimum manual handling and capsules with samples are easily moved to the Soxtec Extraction System for the final step, solvent extraction.
The system can process up to 36 samples per day in batches of six samples. Sample size ranges from 0.5 to 3 grams and measuring range is 0.1 to 100 per cent.The company says that further benefits are low cost, speed, simplicity and accuracy. Simplicity of operation has been an integral part of the design, too with results complying with recognised standard methodsand less operator time compared being necessary.