Inline biofilm monitoring based on near-infrared spectroscopy with ultracompact spectrometer technology

Abstract

In this article, we demonstrate a promising inline near-infrared measurement scheme for 24/7 biofilm monitoring based on cost-effective microelectromechanical system-based spectrometer technology. The shown near-infrared spectral data, acquired at a beer-canning line during a representative time span of 10 days, are analyzed by means of principal component analysis and the performance of the monitoring system and its capability to identify biofilms on its sensor surface are investigated by comparing spectral response with results of offline polymerase chain reaction measurements of smear samples. Correlations between presence of a biofilm and its thickness with scores on PC1 and PC2, respectively, were observed.