A sperm-cell-based biosensor using a fluorescence probe for responsive signal readout toward bitter flavor detection

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Analytical Chemistry
• Sensory Science

Background:

• Bitter flavor detection is crucial for pharmacology and food safety.
• Conventional methods for evaluating bitter flavors have limitations in performance and operation.
• Novel biosensing approaches are needed for efficient bitter compound analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel sperm-cell-based biosensor (SCB) for rapid quantitative detection of bitter compounds.
• To optimize SCB preparation and evaluate its sensing properties and specificity.
• To demonstrate the potential of SCB for comprehensive bitter substance evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized living mouse spermatids as the primary sensing element.
• Employed Fluo 4-AM as a fluorescent transducer.
• Integrated the biosensor with flow cytometry for quantitative detection.
• Optimized SCB preparation using varying quinine concentrations.
• Verified sensing properties with quinine and two other bitter compounds.
• Assessed sensor specificity against five basic flavor types.
• Applied principal component analysis (PCA) for bitter substance classification.

Main Results:

• The SCB demonstrated dose-dependent responses to bitter compounds with high sensitivity and specificity.
• A low limit of detection was achieved for bitter substances.
• The SCB successfully enabled preliminary classification of three bitter substances using PCA.
• The biosensor proved to be convenient, inexpensive, and easy to use.

Conclusions:

• The developed sperm-cell-based biosensor (SCB) offers a novel, efficient, and cost-effective approach for bitter compound detection.
• The SCB exhibits high sensitivity, specificity, and a low limit of detection, suitable for quantitative analysis.
• This technology has significant potential for applications in the pharmaceutical, food, and biosafety industries.