Taste sensing with polyacrylamide grafted cellulose

The research work covers polymer membrane preparation, morphology study, and structural characterization of the membrane and study of the taste sensing characteristics of membrane for five different taste substances. FTIR spectroscopic analysis, UV spectroscopic analysis and SEM were carried for the structure and morphology of polyacrylamide (PAM) grafted cellulose membrane. Sensor characteristics (temporal stability, response stability, response to different taste substances, and reproducibility of sensing performance) were studied using PAM grafted cellulose membrane. Sensor device prepared with this membrane showed distinct response patterns for different taste substances in terms of membrane potential. Threshold concentrations of PAM grafted cellulose membrane are below human threshold concentrations and are as follows: HCl, 0.008; NaCl, 0.05; Q-HCl, 0.001; sucrose, 0.008; and monosodium glutamate (MSG), 0.05 mM. Membranes also showed characteristic response patterns for organic acids (acetic acid, citric acid, formic acid etc.), mineral acids (HCl, H2SO4, HNO3), salts, bitter substances, sweet substances and umami substances. Sensor device prepared with this membrane has excellent shelf life.