METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ANALYSIS OF SEALED CONTAINERS

摘要

This invention relates to methods and devices for NMR spectroscopy analyzing sealed containers e.g., food and beverage containers and other containers, and particularly according to specific embodiments sealed containers made of a conducting but generally nonferromagnetic metal or other conducting material. As discussed in above referenced applications, many current strategies for contaminant detection require a container to be violated, a process that can destroy the container or product and is impractical in large scale applications. The present invention overcomes these and other problems by providing methods and devices for the detection of contaminants and/or contraband in metal or conducting containers by NMR spectroscopy.

主权项

1. A method of analyzing one or more contents of one or more sealed containers, the method comprising:
providing an NMR spectrometer and an NMR probe configured to accept a portion of the sealed container, all of the sealed container, or a portion or all of a plurality of sealed containers; positioning said portion of the sealed container, all of the sealed container, or a portion or all of a plurality of sealed containers within a data collection region of the NMR probe; establishing a homogeneous static magnetic field across the data collection region; applying an amplitude and frequency swept shaped RF pulse; collecting an NMR spectrum; and analyzing the NMR spectrum, thereby analyzing one or more contents of the one or more sealed containers.