title: Real time monitoring of alcoholic fermentation with low-cost amperometric biosensors.
abstract: Screen-printed glucose, ethanol and fructose biosensors, coupled with portable instrumentation, and their application to monitor micro-alcoholic fermentations (micro-ALFs) in red wine is described. For the fabrication of glucose and ethanol biosensors, graphite screen-printed sensors modified with Prussian Blue were coupled with oxidase enzymes while for the fructose biosensor, a bare screen-printed sensor was coated with fructose dehydrogenase and phenazine methansulphate was used as electrochemical mediator. The working range, reproducibility of probe fabrication and biosensor stability were all evaluated. After a recovery study, performed analysing fortified must-wine samples, the biosensors were employed to monitor micro-ALFs induced by the inoculation of two different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. During the red micro-ALFs, samples of must-wine were collected and analysed by use of both biosensors and spectrophotometric kits. The data obtained demonstrated that a biosensor-based system could represent a useful tool to assist winemakers during wine production.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche, Università di Roma Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy. Electronic address: silvia.piermarini@uniroma2.it.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Piermarini
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Esti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Simonetti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Palleschi