Using the Tyrosinase-Based Biosensor To Determine the Concentration of Phenolics in Wine

A tyrosinase-linked biosensor project described previously in this Journal has been expanded for upper-division undergraduate instrumentation courses; students use the biosensor that they fabricate to measure the concentration of phenolics in wine. The original project involved the use of a calibration curve and exposed students to the instruments and principles of electrochemical measurements. This extension, performed in three, 3-h laboratory periods, addresses three further topics of discussion: matrix effects in chemical analysis, the biochemical significance of antioxidants, and the use of statistical analysis techniques, such as the Student’s t test and ANOVA.