Can Cary 630 FTIR be used for soil analysis?

Question

Can Cary 630 FTIR be used for soil analysis? (total organic carbon, plant nitrogen, etc.) I have seen journals that use the 4300 Handheld FTIR, but do the 4300 and 630 have the same specs for the Diffuse reflectance accessory?

kristen.sensabaugh · Accepted Answer

The Cary 630 FTIR spectrometer can be equipped with a Diffused Reflectance Sampling Module similar to the one available for the 4300 Handheld FTIR system. Both FTIR systems are operated via the same software and data analysis of spectra collected from either instrument is expected to be similar. The Cary 630 FTIR is a compact, portable benchtop spectrometer while 4300 is a handheld system that can be used at the point of sampling. To analyze samples with the Cary 630 FTIR with Diffuse Reflectance Module the sample needs to fit into the sample holder. The 4300 handheld system is capable to measure samples of any size. 
 Both systems are suitable to collect IR spectra of soil samples. Some degree of drying and/or homogenization might be required. In order to extract the parameters of interest from the IR spectra for soil in most cases the development of a multivariant analysis (MVA) model is required, because: 
 
 Non-linearity effects 
 Spectra are effected by some other physical properties (which can affect peak shape) 
 Variety of changes can be &ldquo;hidden&rdquo; 
 
 The MicroLab Expert software is a powerful tool to develop such MVA models.

Can Cary 630 FTIR be used for soil analysis?

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