María del Álamo Sanza

Biofilm monitoring of dissolved oxygen in wine aging barrel wood with optical chemical sensors

Micro-oxygenation processes that happen while aging wine in barrels give the necessary final traits to reach quality and determine the wine aging rates. The measurement of oxygen transfer rates across wood and the oxygen distribution within the wood can provide data on the kinetics of the oxygen dosage by wine barrels. Previous attempts at measurement with electrochemical probes achieved the required detection limits of ppb (μg/L), but oxygen consumption by the probes prevented usage for dynamic measurements. Microfluidic chips with integrated optical luminiscent sensor layers provide a robust and sensitive platform for ratiometric imaging using the color channels of a CCD camera. In this study, preliminary results were obtained for the dosage of oxygen in wine barrels.