Nanotubes Measure Chilli Sauce Hotness
10 May 2008, 11:00
Categories: nanotubes-wires-fullerenes sensors
Oxford chemists have found a way of using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to judge the heat of chilli sauces by measuring the levels of capsaicinoids, the substances that make chillies hot. The current industry procedure is to use a panel of taste-testers, and is highly subjective.
The Oxford CNT technology might soon be available commercially as a cheap, disposable sensor for use in the food industry. Capsaicinoids are adsorbed onto multi-walled carbon nanotube electrodes. Then the team measures the current change as the capsaicinoids are oxidised by an electrochemical reaction, and this reading can be translated into Scoville units (a “heat” rating system used in the industry). The technique is called adsorptive stripping voltammetry (ASV), and is a relatively simple electrochemical method.
Posted by: The Editors
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