A New Mathematical Procedure for NIR Analysis: The Lattice Technique. Application to the Prediction of Sugar Content of Apples

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Abstract
Analytical applications of near-infrared spectroscopy require the determination of calibration equations linking chemical and spectral values. Such equations are difficult to update by including new calibration specimens. A new procedure for prediction which was not based on multiple linear regression has been investigated. This procedure could be included in a data base system. The proposed method consists of three steps: compression of the spectral data by applying principal component analysis, creation of a predictive lattice, and projection of the spectra of unknown specimens on to the predictive lattice. This enables the prediction of chemical data that are not perfectly linked to spectral data by a linear relationship. The procedure has been applied to the prediction of the refractive index of apples. A predictive lattice was designed with the use of 45 specimens of calibration. A prediction with 43 verification specimens gave a standard error of 0.8%, which appeared sufficient for grading apples in quality classes. Further studies are required in order to include the proposed method in spectral libraries specializing in analytical applications.