Sonia Cortacero Ramírez´s thesis shows that the analytical technique known as capillary electrophoresis can be implemented in the brewing laboratories for a fast control of the production processes and quality of the final product. This experimental work proves that this process allows an easy and fast characterization of the nutritional and healthy properties of different types of beers.
The Official Association of Chemists of Andalusia and Extremadura announces every year the San Alberto Magno Prize of Doctoral Thesis for doctors who have defended their doctoral thesis in the Universities of Andalusia and Extremadura. On this occasion, the prize gone to this work, supervised by Professor Alberto Fernández Gutiérrez in the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Grupo Cervezas Alhambra S.L.
The objective of capillary electropheresis is to separate the different chemical components of complex samples. By the coupling with different detection systems the identification and quantifying of the components of such samples can be carried out obtaining a graphic representation called electropherogram, a kind of identity card or identifying fingerprint where everything and every part of the whole is registered.
This analytical technique has a great potential if it is applied to food and agriculture. Nowadays, it is being used by scientific teams of our country and the rest of the world. The scientific group Analytical, environmental, biochemical and food control, supervised by Fernández Gutiérrez in the UGR, has proved with different products, like honey, oil or beer the potential of this method as a routine analysis method to implement it in the laboratories of the industries, to control the production quality and the final result.
Reference: Prof. Alberto Fernández Gutiérrez. Dpt. Analytical Chemistry.
E-mail: albertof@ugr.es.
Phone number: 958 243 297.
