Determination of volatile acidity in wine using biosensor

Volatile acidity (VA) in wine can arise from either a byproduct of microbial metabolism, acetic acid bacteria or because of yeast activity during the fermentation process. The sensory threshold for VA in wine is >700 mg/L, with concentrations greater than 1.2-1.3 g/L becoming unpleasant.

Commonly, volatile acidity is measured by Cash Still, gas chromatography, HPLC or enzymatic methods.

This project will focus on the development of nanoscale sensing element based on carbon nanotubes (CNT), which is due a unique combination of electrical, optical, mechanical and chemical properties has an advantage in biosensing comparing to other nanomaterials. CNT’s have large surface area and therefore can be used as platform to conjugate other compounds and functional units on their surface.

The research hypothesis proposes developing a biosensor which is based on CNT encapsulated by a bioreceptor unit, which will interact with volatile acetic acid and form a NIR detectable modification that can be captured with spectroscopy.