Taste Sensor Using LB Membranes for Detecting Nonelectrolytes

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The present study is aimed at the development of a taste sensor using a Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) membrane and also the utilization of nonlinear dynamics of lipid membranes for recognizing taste. The following results were obtained :1) The LB membrane responded to five kinds of taste substances (salty, sour, sweet, bitter, umami) in different ways. The sensitivity was higher than that of humans.2) The structural changes in lipid assemblies of a lipid-adsorbed membrane were observed using a special apparatus with a microscope when the self-sustained oscillation of membtane electric potential occurred.3) Chaos was induced by applying the d.c.electric current on the lipid membrane. The chaotic oscillation was changed by five kinds of taste substances in different ways. It was shown experimentally and theoretically that the nonlinear dynamics is effective for recognition of taste quality and magnitude.These results were found first by this study. Thus, the present study showed that the LB membranes are useful materials of a transducer of taste substances and that such a nonlinear dynamics as chaos is effective for recognizing taste in a manner similar to biological systems.