Chemoreception of sugars by an excitable liquid membrane

Studies were made on electrical oscillations across a liquid membrane consisting of an oil layer, nitrobenzene containing picric acid, between two aqueous layers. This system showed sustained rhythmic oscillations of electrical potential of 200-300 mV with intervals in the order of 1 min. It was found that the histogram of frequency of oscillations was characteristic depending on the structures of the sugars. The histograms of glucose, fructose, galactose and sorbose showed a single maximum whereas those of sorbitol and mannitol showed double maxima.