From idea generation to development of taste sensor

The review paper explains a short history of development of a taste sensor, which was first developed in Japan and can measure taste of foods and pharmaceuticals. The patent of taste sensor using lipid/polymer membranes was applied in 1989, and the first Taste Sensing System was developed and put on market in 1993. The taste sensor developed during the first 15 years had the property to show cross-selectivity to taste qualities and hence the pattern from outputs of several sensor electrodes was treated to estimate taste. A taste sensor developed around 2007 has the property of global selectivity which means that the sensor can classify the taste to five basic taste qualities and quantify the taste because each sensor electrode responds selectively to each of taste qualities. Lipid/polymer membranes of the taste sensor provide a good example of soft materials with functional surface.