A tiny device home to genetically modified bacteria may soon function like an artificial tongue that rapidly analyzes an alcoholic drink’s chemical composition. Using existing biological nanopore technology that underpins DNA sequencing, these new tools could even one day test whether or not a beverage is contaminated with unwanted additives, or even deadly toxins.
Current nanopore technology relies on modified bacterium, usually Mycobacterium smegmatis, to perform microscopic chemical assessments. To accomplish this, experts first create extremely tiny holes only a few nanometers wide in the bacteria’s cell membrane. Researchers then mix the altered organisms into a liquid before applying a small electrical charge to the solution. The liquid’s molecules give off unique signatures while passing through the M. smegmatis nanopores, similar to barcode scanning. From there, a program trained with machine learning almost instantaneously identifies and interprets the electrical signature. While initially used to transform geneticists’ approach to DNA sequencing, researchers at China’s Nanjing University recently theorized that the same strategy could be applied to alcoholic drinks such as wine.
[Related: An ‘electronic tongue’ could help robots taste food like humans.]
Even with many countries’ stringent beverage regulatory laws, studies show that contamination remains a “widespread and notable problem” affecting public health. In nations like Laos, methanol-tainted alcohol is a serious problem responsible for hundreds of deaths per year.While existing testers like liquid chromatography need cumbersome and expensive equipment operated by trained professionals, the researchers liken their prototype to something as simple and small as a COVID-19 antigen test. Their results, published in the journal Matter, offer a promising new path towards safer and more uniform booze.
After training a unique algorithmic learning model on the chemical makeups of a variety of alcoholic drinks including whisky, brandy, Chinese Baiju, and white wine, researchers applied droplets of each liquid onto their device. Their tool accurately classified each sample based on its nanopore readings, which they believe highlights its “significance in alcoholic beverage manufacturing and food safety.”
“These results also inspired applications of nanopore grading of wine sweetness and quantitative measurements of additives,” they added.
Initial demonstrations, for example, showed the machine could easily flag the external addition of sucrose and D-tartaric acid. Although its database is comparatively limited at the moment, researchers believe it is only a matter of time and effort to expand the spectrum of what their device can assess.
“It can provide a quantitative standard for the product and also easily spot counterfeit alcoholic beverage products, as well,” Shuo Huang, a study co-author, told New Scientist on December 17th. Huang added that the portable, easy-to-use device may eventually help save lives with the ability to flag harmful or deadly additives, including methanol.
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