Relationship between Taste Sensor Response and Amount of Quinine Adsorbed on Lipid/Polymer Membrane

In this study, we examined the relationship between the aftertaste of a bitter substance and the amount of the bitter substance adsorbed onto lipid/polymer membranes obtained by spectroscopy. The aftertaste of the bitter substance was evaluated by measuring the change in the membrane potential caused by adsorption (CPA) using a taste sensor. Quinine hydrochloride (quinine), a bitter drug component, was used as the bitter substance. The lipid concentration dependence of the CPA value was similar to that of the amount of adsorbed quinine, indicating a positive correlation between the CPA value and the amount of adsorbed quinine. The CPA value markedly increased when the amount of adsorbed quinine slightly increased, and then it saturated as the amount of adsorbed quinine further increased.