At Gustoceutics™, we employ the α-Insent TS-5000Z E-Tongue, a highly sensitive biosensor platform based on potentiometric measurement principles. This system allows us to objectively evaluate the taste qualities of substances by comparing their sensor responses to validated reference standards.
The E-tongue can detect a range of taste modalities — sweet, salty, sour, umami, bitter, and astringent — but our primary focus is on bitterness and astringency, as these are the leading contributors to aversiveness in oral pharmaceutical products.
Importantly, the technology has demonstrated strong correlation with human taste panel data for several widely used bitter drugs*, making it a credible and cost-effective tool for early-stage formulation development. This enables pharmaceutical teams to de-risk projects, prioritise promising formulations, and make evidence-based decisions earlier in the development lifecycle.
*Toko, K. (Ed.). (2013). Biochemical Sensors: Mimicking Gustatory and Olfactory Senses. CRC Press.
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