Multichannel chemical sensor with global selectivity

A multichannel chemical sensor with global selectivity is composed of several kinds of lipid/polymer membranes for transforming information of substances producing taste into electric signals which are input to a computer. The sensor output shows different patterns for molecules which have different taste qualities such as saltiness and sourness, while it shows similar patterns for molecules with similar taste qualities. The sensor responds to the taste itself, as can be understood from the fact that taste interactions, such as the suppression effect which occurs between sweet and bitter molecules, can be reproduced well. Amino acids can be classified into several groups according to their taste based on sensor outputs. The taste of foodstuffs such as beer, coffee, mineral water and vegetables can be discussed quantitatively using the taste sensor, which provides an objective scale for the human sensory expression. The taste sensor will open doors to a new era of food science.