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Yes. In a 2013 demonstration, Finnish researchers used a microfluidic lab-on-a-chip assay to distinguish two rival cola brands by comparing their fluorescence fingerprints. The device did not taste the drinks or identify their secret ingredients: it measured how each diluted whole-sample mixture changed the signal from a fluorescent europium label.
What the cola challenge showed
Chemistry World reported that a team associated with Pekka Hänninen at the University of Turku used the approach to tell two major rival cola brands apart. The same report says the method differentiated other kinds of liquids, including vodka, red wines and mineral waters. These were sample classifications based on characteristic responses, not explanations of what made one drink taste different.
The report called the comparison a “taste test,” but that phrase was metaphorical. No one tasted the samples as part of the assay: the chip analyzed their chemical response. [Chemistry World, 13 May 2013]
How the fluorescence fingerprint was made
The chip contained an array of surface modulators, including detergents, polymers, metal salts and proteins. When sample components interacted with these materials, they changed the long-lived luminescence of a nonspecific europium label to different degrees. The combined pattern of fluorescence readings served as the liquid’s fingerprint.
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Because the signal reflected the sample’s combined response, the method could distinguish samples without first identifying particular ions or molecules. That is different from determining a named ingredient, discovering a proprietary formula or measuring flavor as a person experiences it.
Reported workflow
- Dilute the liquid sample.
- Add the europium label in solution.
- Dispense the labeled sample through microfluidics into an array of wells.
- Incubate for a few minutes.
- Read the fluorescence pattern with a low-cost plate reader.
The 2013 report gives no named accuracy, sensitivity or other performance figure for the cola demonstration. Its finding is sample differentiation under the study’s test conditions; it does not establish performance across all recipes, batches or production settings.
What the result can—and cannot—tell you
- It can: show that tested liquids produce distinguishable fluorescence patterns with this assay.
- It cannot, on the evidence reported: reveal a cola’s exact ingredients, explain its taste, or independently prove that a product is authentic.
The researchers proposed possible uses in production-line quality control and checks for adulterated or counterfeit food and drink. Those are suggested applications, not evidence that this particular device was deployed commercially. A 2021 review of lab-on-a-chip technologies in food notes that only a fraction of fabricated devices reach the market, with technical performance, user acceptance and cost among the factors. [2021 review, “Lab-on-a-chip technologies for food safety, processing, and packaging applications”]
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How this differs from other cola-testing chips
“Lab-on-a-chip” describes a general approach to miniaturizing laboratory work, not one specific test. Other studies have analyzed particular cola components with different signals and setups. Those results should not be confused with the whole-sample fluorescence fingerprinting experiment.
| Approach | Signal and question answered | Sample handling or readout | Evidence described |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 liquid fingerprinting | Fluorescence pattern used to distinguish whole liquid samples; it does not identify specific ingredients. | Diluted sample, europium label, microfluidic wells, incubation and fluorescence plate reader. | Research demonstration reported by Chemistry World; commercial deployment is not established. |
| 2014 portable capillary electrophoresis | Contactless conductivity detection for specified targets, including caffeine or phosphate in cola. | Portable capillary-electrophoresis system; the record describes an assay-specific analytical setup. | A separate research record, not the 2013 fluorescence device. [US EPA HERO record, 2014] |
| 2019 paper-based electrochemical glucose study | Electrochemical signal to determine glucose in samples including cola and orange fruit. | Paper-based electroanalytical device; its figures concern glucose measurement, not brand classification. | The paper’s abstract reports a 0.5–15 mM linear range and approximately 1% calibration-slope relative standard deviation. These are figures for that separate glucose study. [Amor-Gutiérrez et al., Biosensors and Bioelectronics, 2019] |
From research demonstration to practical use
The distinction between a promising assay and an available tool matters. The 2013 account describes laboratory research and proposed uses; it does not establish a consumer product, a production-line system or a classroom kit based on that device.
There is a separate educational example: Stockholm University’s Chemistry Section says a 2023 workshop for year-nine students included designing chips and using wax-crayon-patterned paper sensors to measure phosphate in Coca-Cola. That activity illustrates hands-on chemical analysis, but it is not the same fluorescence fingerprinting method. [Stockholm University, “Lab-on-a-Chip” Workshop]
In commenting on the 2013 work, University of Glasgow researcher Lee Cronin said: “It will be interesting to see how this technique takes off and how it compares with other techniques that are used as competitors in the liquid fingerprinting field.” The remark captures the open question at the time: how the approach would compare with competing ways of analyzing liquids. [Chemistry World, 13 May 2013]
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