Combined Electronic Nose and Tongue for the Veification of Herbal Products

Abstract

A combination of an electronic tongue and an electronic nose dedicated for the classification of medicinal plant extracts using data fusion technique has been developed. The 'electronic nose' consists of an array of gas sensors based on piezoeelectric principles using lipids and gas chromatographic stationary phase materials of different selectivity patterns. The sensors measure the frequency changes due to the adsorption of vapors on its surfaces. Meanwhile, the 'electronic tongue' consists of chalcogenide glass electrodes (to mimic human tongue) for the analysis of liquid samples. The measurement is based on potentiometric principle, where the voltage difference between the electrodes and the reference electrode are monitored. An inhouse build automated taste sensor system is used for data collection.