Shimadzu MALDI-Based Solutions for Food Quality Control

Food quality control is a key step in the manufacturing process of a successful product. It aims at ensuring that the public consume safe food products free from risks associated with contamination or exposure to allergens. It also helps combat fraudulent activities which can undermine the authenticity and economic value of a food product. For all these reasons, developing fast and robust analytical methods for food quality control is important.

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry is a well-established and widely used technique in various fields. Compared to other analytical techniques, it is particularly appreciated for its speed of analysis, simplicity and robustness. In this webinar, we will present some examples of MALDI-based applications for food quality control aiming at tackling issues of food adulteration and safety, using a small benchtop MALDI-TOF instrument from Shimadzu.

We will host a Q&A session after the presentation to address any questions or comments.

Presenter: Nazim Boutaghou, Ph.D. (Life Science Product Manager, Shimadzu Scientific Instruments)

Nazim Boutaghou received a Master’s degree with a dual major in Chemistry and Biology from the University of Bordeaux 1. He joined Dr. Jean Marie Schmitter’s research group at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology and worked on establishing H/D exchange protocols to study molecular processes taking place in the early onset of the Alzheimer’s disease. After a short break from science to study business management, Nazim joined Dr. Richard Coles’ group at the Louisiana State University in New Orleans (UNO) and advanced his work in the field of Mass Spectrometry, specializing mostly on MALDI-based workflows. He authored and co-authored several publications related to development of novel MALDI matrices, and various proteomics topics. He joined Shimadzu Scientific Instruments (SSI, American Subsidiary of Shimadzu Corporation) in 2013 as an application scientist and became product manager for the life Science products in 2019. He leads a team of several scientist that support life science products and applications for SSI.

Presenter: Simona Salivo (Senior MALDI Applications Specialist, Kratos Analytical)

Simona Salivo was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy. She graduated in “Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technologies” and earned her Ph.D. degree at the Department of Pharmaceutical Science and Health Products of the University of Messina, Italy. She studied under the guidance of the renowned Prof. Luigi Mondello and Prof. Peter Quinto Tranchida and focused during her graduate studies on the development of multidimensional gas chromatography techniques coupled with single quadrupole and high-resolution mass spectrometry for the characterization of lipids in food and biological matrices. Throughout her research, she developed a passion for structural characterisation of lipids which she brought into her current role at Shimadzu. During her Ph.D., she was awarded a 6-month work experience at Shimadzu Corporation in Kyoto, Japan, where she worked on MALDI-TOF MS and MALDI imaging of lipids. This started her journey into the world of MALDI mass spectrometry and the Shimadzu family where she is now a Senior MALDI Applications Specialist at Kratos Analytical in Manchester, UK. In her job, she works with her team to develop numerous MALDI-based applications to showcase the Shimadzu MALDI products, and she works closely with the R&D Department on the development of the Shimadzu MALDI instruments and software, by providing technical feedback and evaluating the products at the different stages of development and manufacturing.