The testing and rapid detection of pathogenic organisms is a crucial protocol in the prevention and identification of crises related to health, safety and wellbeing.

Antibiotic resistance has made the treatment of biofilm-related infections challenging. As such, the quest for nextgeneration antimicrobial technologies must focus on targeted therapies to which pathogenic bacteria cannot develop resistance. Stimuli-responsive therapies represent an alternative technological focus due to their capability of delivering targeted treatment. This study provides a proof-of-concept investigation into the use of magneto-responsive gallium-based liquid metal (LM) droplets as antibacterial materials, which can physically damage, disintegrate, and kill pathogens within a mature biofilm. Once exposed to a low-intensity rotating magnetic field, the LM droplets become physically actuated and transform their shape, developing sharp edges. When placed in contact with a bacterial biofilm, the movement of the particles resulting from the magnetic field, coupled with the presence of nanosharp edges, physically ruptures the bacterial cells and the dense biofilm matrix is broken down. The antibacterial efficacy of the magnetically activated LM particles was assessed against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial biofilms. After 90 min over 99% of both bacterial species became nonviable, and the destruction of the biofilms was observed. These results will impact the design of next-generation, LM-based biofilm treatments.

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Spectroscopic techniques such as near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy are used in the food industry to monitor and assess the composition and quality of products. Similar to other food industries, the wine industry has a clear need for simple, rapid and cost-effective techniques for objectively evaluating the quality of grapes, wines and spirits. Thirty years have passed since the fi rst work reported by Kaffka and Norris on the use of NIR spectroscopy to analyse wine. Since then, NIR spectroscopy has been used for grape and wine compositional analysis, fermentation monitoring and wine grading. However, the use of NIR spectroscopy in the wine industry is still in its infancy. From the analysis of the scatter information available, it appears that NIR spectroscopy is applied in different steps during the wine production. This review highlights the most recent applications of NIR spectroscopy in the grape and wine industry. Additional information is also provided on the use of mid infrared spectroscopy for wine analysis.