Identification of Irradiated Prawn (Penaeus monodon) Using Thermoluminescence and 2-Alkylcyclobutanone Analyses

Thermoluminescence (TL) and 2-alkylcyclobutanone (2-ACB) analyses were performed to identify irradiated prawns (Penaeus monodon). With the TL method, minerals were extracted from prawns using acid hydrolysis. The experimental results satisfied the evaluation criteria of European Norm (EN) 1788, even after low-dose irradiation (0.5 kGy) and a 60 day storage at −20 °C. With the 2-ACB method, 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB) and 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone (2-TCB) were successfully extracted from prawns by direct solvent extraction with purification using a conventional silica column and a sulfoxide column, which was used for 2-ACB for the first time. Both 2-ACB derivatives were absent from the non-irradiated samples but were identified in all irradiated samples by gas chromatography−mass spectrometry. Moreover, 2-DCB and 2-TCB production correlated with the applied dose (2.5−10 kGy), and the correlation did not diminish after 60 days of storage at −20 °C for any dose. Therefore, these two techniques provide rap...