A Cork-Based Smart Biosensing System for Ethanol

Developing a new biosensing platform for the direct detection of analytes in beverages can offer significant, new opportunities for medical science, microbiology, nutrition studies, and the food industry. Cork stoppers are widely used for beverage bottles, and the stopper's inner sides can be in direct contact with beverages. Here, we show for the first time the development of an amperometric biosensor on a cork with a two electrode configuration containing carbon nanotube as working electrode and Ag/AgCl as reference electrode. The sensor displays sensitive detection of hydrogen peroxide. Via the immobilization of alcohol oxidase, the sensor can detect ethanol. We anticipate that these results could offer exciting opportunities for the fundamental studies of non-conventional biosensors, as well as provide a wide range of applications in the food and beverage industry.