Molecular tests can be used to assess the quality of the drink
Evgenii Parilov/Alay
Beverage manufacturers and consumers may soon have a small, portable kit, not much bigger than a covid test, to check the quality and safety of alcoholic beverages.
The device is being described as an “artificial tongue” because it can detect additives, toxins and the sweetness of the drink with just a few drops.
Shuo Huang China’s Nanjing University says this first generation of new technology still can’t test date-rape drugs in spiked drinks or detect methanol contamination. recently it caused the death of six backpackers in Laosmaybe future versions.
Current methods of analyzing alcoholic beverages, such as liquid chromatography, involve expensive and cumbersome laboratory equipment and require expert technicians to operate and analyze samples.
The artificial tongue is based on the biological technology of nanopores. This uses a modified organism, such as a bacterium with a small hole or pore, a few nanometers in diameter, in its cell membrane. By electrically charging the membrane, small molecules of the substance being tested can enter and pass through the pore.
As these molecules pass through the nanopore they create a unique electrical signature that can be analyzed to identify the chemicals in the sample. Nanopores already He revolutionized DNA sequencingwith a device that allows for near-instant testing of genetic material easy to transport.
Huang and his colleagues used a nanopore already deployed in DNA sequencing, made with a bacterium called Mycobacterium smegmatis.
The device uses artificial intelligence to identify molecules passing through the nanopore, including flavor compounds and additives, Huang says. “The sensor will immediately tell us which drink is alcoholic,” he says. “It can provide a quantitative standard for the product and also easily detect counterfeit alcoholic beverage products.”
The nanopore detector only needs an electricity source to operate, he says. “This nanopore sensing test can be done at home, in the office or even on the roadside, as simple as a covid test,” says Huang. “All you have to do is add a drop of alcoholic drink to the sensor and wait for the result. The machine learning algorithm will do the rest for you.”
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