Kansei Biosensors to Reproduce Gustatory and Olfactory Senses

Abstract

  Anyone talks about the taste using different taste scale. Since how to feel the taste is different from one to other people, we sometimes lead to inconsistency when speaking about the taste of food. The present study aims at development of electronic tongue (taste sensor) and electronic nose (odor sensor). There are two important properties about the taste sensor. One, each sensor electrode (lipid/polymer membrane) is specific to each taste. Another is that the sensor can measure the aftertaste such as richness, which is the aftertaste of umami. In the case of, e.g., bitterness electrode (BT0), it responds well to bitter taste substances such as quinine, cetirizine, hydroxyzine and bromhexine. For other taste qualities, on the other hand, it shows no response. A taste sensor is now sold by Intelligent Sensor Technology, Inc., and utilized in pharmaceutical and food companies. An electronic nose to detect lingering scent is composed of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor, which is a sensing device with high sensitivity, and antigen-antibody interaction. A self-assembled monolayer was constructed on the reception surface of SPR device. The experimental result on benzaldehyde, a typical peach flavor, shows the sensor sensitivity 4 ppb, which is superior to the human sensitivity of about 350 ppb. Our developed taste sensor and electronic nose play the role of gustatory and olfactory senses, respectively.