ELECTRONIC TONGUE

BY
R.PAVAN KUMAR,
RIPER-ANANTAPUR.
 WHAT IS ELECTRONIC
TONGUE?
• The electronic tongue is an instrument
that measures and compares tastes.

• It is an analytical instrument comprising

an array of non-specific, low selective
chemical sensors with cross-sensitivity
to different components in solution, and
an appropriate method of pattern
recognition and/or multivariate
calibration for the data processing.
 MAIN NEED IN PHARMACY FIELD

 Assessment of the taste of oral drug the

preparation-Major interest
 To date, only method employed for
determination of taste intensity was
human sensory test.
 To facilitate the work and address the
difficulties associated with human panel
test, a safe,
reliable, fast analyzing objective
instrument was developed called
“Electronic Tongue” .
 PRINCIPLE
Utilization of non-specific or low-
selective potentiometric chemical
sensors with enhanced cross-
sensitivity to as many different
components in solution as
possible.
 CORRELATION WITH HUMAN
TONGUE
• Mechanism involved for taste recognition
shows the same three levels in both.

• Taste buds in human.

The receptor
level
• Lipid membrane of sensors.

• Nerve transmission
The circuit
level
• transducers

• Cognition in thalamus
The perceptual • Statical analysis
level
 INSTRUMENTATION
• Liquid Autosampler
• Chemical Sensor or Sensor array
• Acquisition System
• Data Processing
System
 CHEMICAL SENSOR ????

Chemical sensors are small devices that

perform transformation of chemical or
biochemical information of a qualitative or
quantitative type into an analytical useful
signal by the process of chemical
interaction between sample and sensors.

• Currently these technologies are based on

electrochemical sensors(POTENTIOMETRIC).

• Other sensing methods applied is voltammeter.

• The detecting sensor part consist of
lipid/polymer membranes and act as the
working electrodes.

• The reference electrodes -Ag/AgCl.

• Electrode charge density of the lipid/polymer

membrane surface and ion distribution near
the surface of the membrane is changed due
to sample.

• Therefore the total electrical charge on the

lipid membrane gives the response membrane
electric potential for the substances.
 ACQUISITION SYTEM

• The acquisition system establishes the

communication between the sensor array
and data processing system.

• Converts the electrical signals from sensor

array to digital signals with less
distortion.

• Amplifier must be present as the electrical

signals from the sensors are always small.
DATA PROCESSING SYSTEMS
•Chemometric techniques a type of multivariate statistic used in
the analytical field provide data processing, which consist of
recognition, classification and identification and multivariate
calibration.

Statistical analysis Broad use Application

Principal component analysis (PCA) Qualification, exploration and discrimination Initial formulation studies

Discrimination factorial analysis (DFA) Discrimination and identification Recognition of unknown sample

Soft independent modeling of class analogy Good/bad modeling Quality control against reference good
(SIMCA) product

Partial least square (PLS) Quantification Quantification of bitterness against sensory

panel
 APPLICATIONS
• Quantify taste masking efficiency of
formulations.

• Analyze medicines stability in terms of taste.

• Benchmark target products.

• Analyze flavor ageing in beverages.

• Quantify bitterness or “spicy level” of drinks or

dissolved compounds.
 CONCLUSION

Electronic tongues are emerging,

promising and proved to be a valuable
tool for assessment and prediction of
the taste of pharmaceuticals and
related products.
THANK YOU