Glucose determination in wine
Even people who rarely or never consume wine are able to taste different sugar concentrations and easily differentiate wines. Therefore, a critical parameter for wine quality as well as for vinification is the sugar content of the grapes and the wine.
"The successful development of a sensor system that enables continuous measurement of the sugar content during the entire vinification process has the potential to transform wine production worldwide," describes Markus Nowrouzi of SITT Development GmbH.
In his opinion, almost every wine barrel in the world will be equipped with such a sensor system soon after market entry.
In the GlucoVin project, MATERIALS is developing an opto-chemical sensor system in cooperation with SITT Development GmbH, which enables measurement of the sugar concentration during the entire vinification process. In combination with appropriate control technology, this is intended to significantly improve wine production.
Sulphite determination in wine
In viticulture, sulphites act as antioxidants to bind oxygen and thus conserve the aromas in wine. In addition, sulphites also have an antimicrobial effect, thus prevent the formation of bacteria and mould fungi. Adding sulphites increases the shelf life of wine significantly. The European Union has specified that the presence of sulphite must be declared if its concentration exceeds 10 mg/l. The EU also specifies legal maximum levels for sulphites. Furthermore, the EU specifies legal maximum concentrations that range from 150-500 mg/l, depending on the type of wine and its sugar concentration. Therefore, a determination of the sulphite concentration in the wine is necessary.
Researchers at the Department of Analytical Chemistry at the University of Granada (Spain) in collaboration with Gerhard J. Mohr from the MATERIALS Institute have now developed a microfluidic analysis device that enables easy and quick determination of the sulphite concentration in wines. For this purpose, the wine sample is applied to the colorimetric device. Its sensor area detects the sulphite, which leads to a change in colour depending on the concentration of the sulphite. This can be read out within one minute using a smartphone.
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