Analysis of a Lipid/Polymer Membrane for Bitterness Sensing with a Preconditioning Process

It is possible to evaluate the taste of foods or medicines using a taste sensor. The taste sensor converts information on taste into an electrical signal using several lipid/polymer membranes. A lipid/polymer membrane for bitterness sensing can evaluate aftertaste after immersion in monosodium glutamate (MSG), which is called “preconditioning”. However, we have not yet analyzed the change in the surface structure of the membrane as a result of preconditioning. Thus, we analyzed the change in the surface by performing contact angle and surface zeta potential measurements, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photon spectroscopy (XPS) and gas cluster ion beam time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (GCIB-TOF-SIMS). After preconditioning, the concentrations of MSG and tetradodecylammonium bromide (TDAB), contained in the lipid membrane were found to be higher in the surface region than in the bulk region. The effect of preconditioning was revealed by the above analysis methods.