Abstract
Electrical and optical characteristics of a monoolein poly vinyl chloride (PVC) membrane with taste solutions were examined in this paper. The electric resistance and the optical transmittance of the membrane showed more than 90 times change with the concentration of NaCl solution. As electric conductances of the membrane increased with different patterns in the taste solutions such as Saccharose (sweetness), NaCl (salty), HCl (sourness), Quinine hydrochloride (bitterness), mono-Sodium L-glutamate (umami), it was proved the membrane had an electrical selectivity. Order of the detectionthreshold of the membrane for the taste solutions was Quinine Hydrochloride <HCL<mono-Sodium L-glutamate<NaCl<Saccharose. This is the same order as a human taste characteristic. This paper showed also the reproducibility of the membrane conductance for the taste solutions. It was improved by decreasing an electric current value passed through the membrane. These results suggest that the monoolein PVC membrane had possibility as a taste sensing material.
