A DNA-Based Biosensor for Wine Authenticity

Authenticity assessment of food products is of major relevance worldwide. The wine sector is a billion euro business which encourages fraudulent practices. The need to rapidly detect such situations is a request that can be achieved using specific deoxyribonucleic acid – DNA sequences. DNA-based detection systems are an emergent research field with a wide application areas, e.g. food safety, food traceability, genetics, pathology, pharmacogenetics, criminology, civil defence, among others. The available methods are quite limited and most use fluorophore label to detect a given sequence, making them expensive and difficult to use once they require specialized equipment and materials.

The aim of the present study was to develop a label free DNA-based biosensor for wine authenticity.

The platform consisted on the functionalization of an optical fiber long-period grating (LPG) with single strand-DNA (specific to Vitis vinifera L.). The sensing system was put into contact with complementary sequence, partial-complementary and non-complementary DNA in order to assure the occurrence of specific-hybridization. The hybridization was only assured in the presence of a complementary sequence. Furthermore, DNA extracted from a Vitis viniferaL. and DNA extracted from wine was used and obtained good hybridization efficiencies.

Acknowledgments: ON2 Enoexcel - NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000032, Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) PTDC/AGR-ALI/117341/2010-FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-019439 and PhD grant SFRH/BD/44781/2008