Using gas-assisted electrospinning to design rod-shaped particles from starch for thickening agents and Pickering emulsifiers.

Starch's large particle size and compact semi-crystalline structure limit its effectiveness as an emulsifier and shear-reversible thickener. To address this, we used gas-assisted electrospinning to convert large starch granules into thin fibers and then into rod-shaped particles for use as starch-based thickeners and emulsifiers. Manipulating the starch concentration in formic acid, and the electrospinning parameters, caused the jetted polymers to form different shapes.

Edible structuring agent shaped via interfacial precipitation on solid template: Crosslinked starch colloidosome.

Water-permeable hollow starch particles alter the rheological behavior of their granular suspensions. However, their thin shells can rupture limiting applications. In this study, we used amaranth starch as building blocks (1 μm) to craft a crosslinked superstructure.

Food LEGO: Building hollow cage and sheet superstructures from starch.

The idea of building large structures from small building blocks has had a long history in the human imagination, from the beautifully intricate shells assembled from silica by unicellular algae to the Egyptian pyramids built from stone. Carrying this idea into the food industry has important implications. Here, we introduce a Pickering emulsion platform for building superstructures like hollow cages and sheets using starch granules as building blocks.

Starch Janus Particles: Bulk Synthesis, Self-Assembly, Rheology, and Potential Food Applications.

Although incredible progress in the field of Janus particles over the last three decades has delivered many promising smart-material prototypes, from cancer-targeting drug delivery vehicles to self-motile nanobots, their real-world applications have been somewhat tempered by concerns over scalability and sustainability. In this study, we adapt a simple, scalable 3D mask method to synthesize Janus particles in bulk using starch as the base material: a natural biopolymer that is safe, biocompatible, biodegradable, cheap, widely available, and versatile. Using this method, starch granules are first embedded on a wax droplet such that half of the starch is covered; then, the uncovered half is treated with octenyl succinic anhydride, after which the wax coating is removed.

Modulating Functionality of Starch-Based Patchy Particles by Manipulating Architecture and Environmental Factors.

Starch as a food-grade thickener has been commonly used in food products to modulate textural properties. Improving viscosity-enhancing ability, so as to be able to use less starch for the same texture, has been considered as an approach to reduce the dietary consumption of carbohydrates. We have positively charged amaranth starch (∼1 μm) and negatively charged corn starch (>10 μm) and physically fused the particles together to create a starch with a heterogeneous pattern.

Heat- and shear-reversible networks in food: A review.

While nature behaves like an irreversible network with respect to entropy and time, certain systems in nature exist that are, to some extent, reversible. The property of reversibility imparts unique benefits to systems that possess them, making them suitable for designing self-healing, stimuli-responsive, and smart materials that can be used in widely divergent fields. Reversible networks are currently being exploited for applications in tissue engineering, drug delivery, and soft robotics.

Fabrication of Charged Self-Assembling Patchy Particles Templated with Partially Gelatinized Starch.

Starch, as a staple carbohydrate, is frequently used as a thickener to enhance food texture. As such, there is an increasing interest in studying starch modification to improve its thickening ability. Instead of the conventional mechanism of swelling-based thickening, the present work presents an alternative using starch-based patchy particles as a texturizer prepared through a bottom-up method by physically grafting small amaranth starch granules (∼1 μm) onto corn starch granules (>10 μm).

Protein content of amaranth and quinoa starch plays a key role in their ability as Pickering emulsifiers.

Growing concerns about the safety of using synthetic surfactants to stabilize food emulsions have inspired a trend towards the use of natural ingredients like starch as alternative food stabilizers in what are called Pickering emulsions. The hydrophilicity of commercially available starches, however, necessitates further chemical treatment to increase their hydrophobicity and emulsifying ability. Here we demonstrate an alkaline isolation method to extract amaranth and quinoa starch from flour while retaining a high protein content, which gives these materials an emulsifying ability comparable to octenyl succinylated starches in the literature.

Modulation of whey protein-kappa carrageenan hydrogel properties via enzymatic protein modification.

Treatment of whey protein isolate (WPI; 1 to 25% w/w) in heated κ-carrageenan (KC; 2% w/w) slurries with protease and/or transglutaminase modulated the properties of the hydrogels formed after cooling. Observation of peak compression stress and strain at gel rupture showed WPI incorporation at 1, 5 and 10% (w/w) significantly reduced the strength and deformability of 2% (w/w) KC gels. Treatment of WPI solutions in KC slurries with Alcalase 2.

Improvement of physicochemical properties of encapsulated echium oil using nanostructured lipid carriers.

Implementing ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 PUFA), naturally found in echium oil (EO), can highly improve the nutritional value of fortified foods. However, PUFA is prone to oxidation. In this study, the role of nanostructured lipid carriers incorporated into whey protein isolate (WPI)-stabilized EO droplets in oil-in-water emulsions was analyzed.

Nano- and micromotors for cleaning polluted waters: focused review on pollutant removal mechanisms.

Nano- and micromotors are machines designed to self-propel and-in the process of propelling themselves-perform specialized tasks like cleaning polluted waters. These motors offer distinct advantages over conventionally static decontamination methods, owing to their ability to move around and self-mix-which heightens the interaction between their active sites and target pollutants-thus improving their speed and efficiency, which could potentially decrease treatment times and costs. In the last decade, considerable research efforts have been expended on exploring various mechanisms by which these motors can self-propel and remove pollutants, proving that the removal of oil droplets, heavy metals, and organic compounds using these synthetic motors is possible.

Light-harvesting synthetic nano- and micromotors: a review.

Nano- and micromotors are machines that can be made to perform specialized tasks as they propel themselves in response to certain stimuli. While the design of these self-propelling nano- and micromotors remains challenging, they have nevertheless attracted considerable research due to their many promising applications. Most self-propelled nano- and micromotors are based on the conversion of chemical energy into mechanical movement.