NANOTECHNOLOGY-(FOOD

ENGINEERING)
ELECTRONIC TONGUE
TECHNOLOGY
INTROUCTION
Introduced by toko et al in 1990-taste
sensor system-electronic tongue
Artificial tongue
Reduce human sensory test panels
Precise measurement of taste
Formulation development time and cost
Increases number of formulation
candidates in prescreening steps
global analysis of total complex
chemistry of the sample
DEFINITION
The system for automatic analysis of
liquid including an array of non-specific
chemical sensors with partial specificity
for different component in liquid samples
and appropriate pattern recognition
capable of recognizing the qualitative and
quantitative composition of sample and
complex solutions.
PRINCIPLE
The principle of the electronic tongue
is based on utilization of non-specific
or low-selective potentiometric
chemical sensors with enhanced cross-
sensitivity to as many different
components in solution as possible
Responses of the sensors-the
interaction with ionic and redox
species, both inorganic and organic at
the membrane-solution interface.
OBJECTIVES
Identification -bitter, sweet and sour
substances
Separating the different substances
eliciting the same taste
Identify drug preparations containing
active substance and placebo
substance
Quantify the content of bitter and
sweet substances
Assessment of different taste
masking approaches
APPEARANCE OF AN ELECTONIC TONGUE
lab-on-a-chip-tough glass-like
container
16 to 36 tiny printed dye spots-
diameter of a pencil lead
size of a business card
14 different natural and artificial
sweeteners
Electronic circuitry-an interface
between an electronic tongue and
digital input/output boards-control the
tongue and process its readings
CORRELATION BETWEEN HUMAN TONGUE
AND ELECTRONIC TONGUE
THREE LEVELS
•Receptor level [taste buds in humans,
lipid membrane of sensors in the
electronic tongues]
•Circuit level [neural transmission in
humans, transducers in the electronic
tongues]
•Perceptual level [cognition in the
thalamus in humans, statistical analysis
by software in the electronic tongues].
RECEPTOR LEVEL
Sensor probe assembly-Detect organic and inorganic
compounds
Cross-sensitivity and selectivity – detect liquid matrix
Sensors composed of organic coating
Transducer converts the response of the membrane into
signals

CIRCUIT LEVEL
Quantified, digitized and results are recorded

PERCEPTUAL LEVEL
Process of taste perception or sensation
Statistical software interprets the sensor data into taste
patterns
WORKING OF ELECTRONIC TONGUE
10 to 100 polymer micro beads on a silicon chip
about one centimeter square.
A camera on a chip connected to a computer then
examines the colors
and performs a simple RGB analysis that in turn
determines what tastes are
present.
for example-Yellow would be a response to high
acidity, or a sour taste.
simple markers: calcium and metal ions for salty, pH
levels for sour, and sugars for sweet.
"taste" cholesterol levels in blood, cocaine in urine,
or toxins in water.
inexpensive disposable units, placed on a roll of tape
to be used quickly and easily.
BENEFITS OF ELECTRONIC TONGUE
Evaluate and quantify bitterness scores
of new chemical entities
Optimizes and increases the
formulation development process
Within the formulation, it measures the
efficiency of complexation/coating.
Various combinations of sweeteners,
enhancers, exhausters, aromas and
masking agents can be tested in less
time.
Serving a quality control function for
flavored products and excipients.
APPLICATIONS OF ELECTRONIC TONGUE

Foodstuffs Industry
Medicine
Safety
Environmental pollution monitoring
Chemical Industry
Quality control of air in buildings,
closed accommodation
Legal protection of inventions
Other Analytical Applications
Taste quantification and foodstuff
recognition are the main area of application
Different kinds of commercial mineral water
were classified
Different varieties of tomato were
recognized
discriminate between fresh and spoiled milk
Ten brands of coffee of different origin
were measured at 60oC
CONCLUSION
Electronic tongues are an emerging and
promising field in modern chemical sensor
science.
The system could potentially assist, or
even replace, a sensory panel in certain
type of routine analysis in pharmaceutical
development and production
Electronic tongue systems seem to be very
useful for process monitoring and as a
quality-control tool in the food industry, in
clinical analysis, and in research
laboratories