Biomimetic Sensors for the Senses: Towards Better Understanding of Taste and Odor Sensation
Chunsheng Wu,
Ya-Wen Du,
Liquan Huang,
Yaron Ben-Shoshan Galeczki,
Ayana Dagan-Wiener,
Michael Naim,
Masha Y. Niv,
Ping Wang
Affiliations
Chunsheng Wu
Institute of Medical Engineering, School of Basic Medical Science, Health Science Center, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710061, China
Ya-Wen Du
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310013, China
Liquan Huang
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310013, China
Yaron Ben-Shoshan Galeczki
The Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Ayana Dagan-Wiener
The Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Michael Naim
The Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Masha Y. Niv
The Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot 76100, Israel
Ping Wang
Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Taste and smell are very important chemical senses that provide indispensable information on food quality, potential mates and potential danger. In recent decades, much progress has been achieved regarding the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of taste and odor senses. Recently, biosensors have been developed for detecting odorants and tastants as well as for studying ligand-receptor interactions. This review summarizes the currently available biosensing approaches, which can be classified into two main categories: in vitro and in vivo approaches. The former is based on utilizing biological components such as taste and olfactory tissues, cells and receptors, as sensitive elements. The latter is dependent on signals recorded from animals’ signaling pathways using implanted microelectrodes into living animals. Advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches, as well as differences in terms of sensing principles and applications are highlighted. The main current challenges, future trends and prospects of research in biomimetic taste and odor sensors are discussed.
