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ATR-Based Absorbance Spectroscopy of Optically Dense Food Dyes
This Spectra of the Month highlights the capabilities of our ATR (attenuated total reflectance) probe combined with the AvaSpec-VRS2048CL spectrometer and AvaLight-Hal-S-Mini light source to measure absorbance spectra of optically dense food coloring samples (blue, pink, green, and purple). Traditional absorbance methods often struggle with such dense samples, but ATR enables effective measurements by limiting light penetration depth. The resulting spectra displayed unique absorbance peaks for each sample that matched known dye signatures. Analysis of peak intensities provided insights into relative dye concentrations, although precise quantification was beyond the method’s scope. This experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of ATR combined with our spectroscopy instruments for challenging absorbance measurements across the visible spectrum.
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