Portable fiber-optic sensor for simple, fast, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly quantification of total acidity in real-world applications

Abstract

In this work, an innovative fiber-optic sensor for measuring total acidity (TA: expressed as the % w/v of acetic acid) in beverages was developed. For this purpose, we relied on the kinetic principles of heterogeneous solid-phase reactions (slow reactions due to diffusion processes) to develop a novel pH-sensitive fluorescent membrane calibration method for the quantification of TA. In the proposed calibration method, a linear relationship between TA and the protonation rate of a pH-sensitive fluorescent membrane with a pKa ≥ 9 (Paper-FM) is established. Paper-FM was synthesized by the covalent immobilization of the pH-probe Nile Blue on a porous paper membrane. In addition, a 3D-printed interface was designed to implement Paper-FM into a 0.5 mm diameter optical fiber. The fiber-optic sensor developed in this work was tested by analyzing 21 vinegar samples of different origins, and the results were successfully validated with a reference titration method. The results presented in this work show that our fiber-optic sensor allows a direct, simple, and fast (15 s response time) quantification of TA in vinegar samples. In addition, it is environmentally friendly, because, unlike titration methods, it does not generate toxic waste, is reversible, and is extremely stable (a 0.9 mm diameter circle of Paper-FM allows at least 50 consecutive measurements).