Discrimination of taste qualities using static and dynamic responses of multichannel taste sensor

Static and dynamic electric responses to various kinds of taste substances in lipid/polymer membranes were investigated. The changes in membrane electric potentials were analyzed using multivariate analyses such as multiple regression and cluster analyses. Taste qualities were quantified and classified into clusters according to the kinds of electrochemical and hydrophobic interactions between lipid/polymer membranes and taste substances. The clustering process of taste qualities in static responses was different from that in dynamic responses. Therefore, it was concluded that static and dynamic electric responses in lipid/polymer membranes contain different taste information. This finding facilitates development of a novel taste sensor utilizing static and dynamic responses.