Study of sweet taste evaluation using taste sensor with lipid/polymer membranes

The higher sensitivity for sweeteners can be achieved by newly developed lipid/polymer membranes. The membrane is composed of lipids such as phosphoric acid di-n-hexadecyl ester and tetradodecylammoniumbromid, and a plasticizer, dioctyl phenylphosphonate. As a result of changing electric charge of the membrane surface, the newly developed membrane shows 5-10 times higher sensitivity for sucrose than the conventional ones. We also applied the sensor to other sugars such as sugar alcohol which is used as alternative sweetness or food additives. The experimental results of other sweeteners relatively correspond to human sensory evaluation, though the sensitivity for some sugars need to be improved. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.