Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
741451 Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 2008 11 Pages PDF
Abstract

To meet the need for a fast and sensitive method in determining taste-causing compounds in beverage, piezoelectric quartz crystal (PQC) sensor array based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) coating is developed for sensing quinine and saccharine in bitter drinks. The MIP-PQC sensor produces a satisfactory repeatability (R.S.D. below 5%, n = 3), high sensitivity (2.04 mg/L and 32.8 mg/L) and wide working range (10–1080 mg/L and 51–3420 mg/L) for sensing quinine and saccharine, respectively, with no significant interference from most substances commonly found in drinks except sucrose. The MIP-PQC was applied for sensing commercially available tonic water with results compared to taste assessment from a human taste panel. In addition to reducing cost and providing 24 h service, the MIP-PQC sensor array is shown to give a fast sample throughput of 17–19 analysis per hour, satisfactory repeatability, a high sensitivity to detect change in bitter taste in tonic water and negligible suppressing effect by saccharine as compared to the human taste panel. This technology provides a promising methodology for taste application in flavour estimation and quality control of experimental, intermediate and final product for drinks and beverages.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Chemistry Analytical Chemistry
Authors
, , , , ,