A Reaction-Based Optical Fingerprinting Strategy for the Recognition of Fat-Soluble Samples: Discrimination of Motor Oils

Optical “fingerprints” are widely used for chemometrics-assisted recognition of samples of different types. An emerging trend in this area is the transition from obtaining “static” spectral data to reactions analyzed over time. Indicator reactions are usually carried out in aqueous solutions; in this study, we developed reactions that proceed in an organic solvent, thereby making it possible to recognize fat-soluble samples. In this capacity, we used 5W40, 10W40, and 5W30 motor oils from four manufacturers, with six samples in total. The procedure involved mixing a dye, sample, and reagents (HNO3, HCl, or tert-butyl hydroperoxide) in an ethanolic solution in a 96-well plate and measuring absorbance or near-infrared fluorescence intensity every several minutes for 20–55 min. The obtained photographic images were processed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and the k-nearest neighbors algorithm (kNN). Discrimination accuracy was evaluated by a validation procedure. A reaction of oxidation of a dye by nitric acid allowed us to recognize all six samples with 100% accuracy for LDA. Merging of data from the four reactions that did not provide complete discrimination ensured an accuracy of 93% for kNN. The newly developed indicator systems have good prospects for the discrimination of other fat-soluble samples. Overall, the results confirm the viability of the kinetics-based discrimination strategy.