ANIR, a tool for analysis of Infrared spectra
<p>In recent years, the miniaturization of the instruments and the environmental concern has led to a wider usage of spectroscopic techniques to characterize harmful compounds in many research centres. These techniques, which benefits include high temporal resolution, non-invasiveness and good sensitivity, allow to simultaneously analyze a number of compounds in the gas phase.</p><p>This work presents a tool for the analysis of Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) developed within the frame of EUROCHAMP projects to evaluate compounds contained in a complex gas mixture. Based on Multiple Linear Regression, the analysis method has been improved with an algorithm to locally filter the spectra, removing unwanted overlapping broadband curves due to aerosols, optical misalignment or broad absorptions of unknown compounds. This software is widely used among FTIR users within the simulation chambers community and beyond. Tests on complex air masses versus other methods typically used have proven its suitability in the determination of compounds even in the presence of unidentified interfering compounds. In fact, it improves the signal to noise ratio by reducing interferences, which results in a better data quality. It can be used for the analysis of absorption spectra from different instrumental approaches (e.g. FTIR, FTIR-ATR) and extended to other spectral regions (e.g. UV/Vis). The software is available as @ANIR and includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI), which is a user-friendly tool that provides the temporal profile of the analysed compounds and allows traceability of the analysis setup parameters. This tool can be downloaded for free upon registering in the Eurochamp-2020 webpage (www.eurochamp.org). Together with @ANIR, a Library of Analytical Resources (LAR) containing nearly 400 calibrated IR spectra of gas compounds at a good spectral resolution can be accessed through the same website. These complementary tools can ease the analysis of FTIR spectra by the users, improving the quality and reliability of the data.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgements</strong></p><p>This project/work has received funding from the European Union&#8217;s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme through the EUROCHAMP-2020 Infrastructure Activity under grant agreement No 730997. CAPOX from the Spanish R+D program, Ref RTU2018-097768-B-C21 is acknowledged. F. CEAM is partly supported by Generalitat Valenciana</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><ol><li>Analysis software, EUROCHAMP-2020 Data Center, https://data.eurochamp.org/anasoft/</li> <li>Library of Analytical Resources, EUROCHAMP-2020 Data Center, https://data.eurochamp.org/library-of-analytical-resources/</li> <li>M. R&#243;denas, A. Mu&#241;oz, GUI for the use with FTIR analysis software. D3.5 of the EUROCHAMP-2020 project.</li> </ol>