Improvement of Sensitivity to Sweet Taste Substances Using Taste Sensor with Lipid Membranes

A multichannel taste sensor using lipid/polymer membranes has higher sensitivities to electrolytes such as sour and salty substances than nonelectrolytes such as sweet substances. The purpose of this study is to improve sensitivity to sweet taste substances. The response to sweetness is assumed to have a mechanism different from electrolytic taste substances due to its nonelectrolyte. We could make large improvement of the response to sweetness by mixing positively and negatively charged lipid/polymer membranes and utilizing their hydrophobic property.