A Taste Bud Organoid-Based Biosensor with a 3-Dimensional Microelectrode Array for Evaluating Caffeine's Impacts on...

Area of Science:

• Sensory Biology
• Biotechnology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• The precise impact of caffeine on the gustatory system remains incompletely understood.
• Investigating caffeine's modulatory effects on taste perception is crucial for advancing sensory science.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and utilize a novel taste bud organoid-based biosensor for systematically assessing caffeine's influence on taste perception.
• To explore the electrophysiological responses of taste bud organoids to various flavor stimuli under caffeine exposure.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a taste bud organoid-based biosensor using a 3-dimensional microelectrode array.
• Electrophysiological characterization of taste bud organoid responses to diverse flavor stimuli and caffeine.
• Analysis of biosensor functionality metrics (electrode response rate, signal-to-noise ratio) and principal component analysis for flavor differentiation.

Main Results:

• The biosensor demonstrated an electrode response rate of 45-56% and a signal-to-noise ratio of 20.71-23.62.
• Taste bud organoids showed distinct electrophysiological responses, with sweet stimuli eliciting the strongest response, followed by sour.
• Responses to bitter, salty, and umami stimuli were comparable to baseline levels.

Conclusions:

• This research provides novel insights into caffeine's interaction with taste bud organoids.
• The developed taste bud organoid biosensor represents a significant advancement in biomimetic taste sensing technology.
• The findings contribute to the fields of sensory biology and flavor sensing technology development.