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Applied Sciences
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Microfluidic Technology in Food Processing
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Microfluidic Technology in Food Processing

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Fluid Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 August 2023) | Viewed by 2292

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Jenifer Santos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Escuela Politécnica Superior, Universidad de Sevilla, c/Virgen de África, 7, E41011 Sevilla, Spain
Interests: encapsulation; food emulsions; essential oils; surfactants; rheology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nanostructures can be developed by means of nanoemulsions, submicron emulsions, nanoparticles, nanoliposomes, and nanofibers. These systems can be produced by high-energy methods such as ultrasounds, membrane emulsification, or microfluidization. The latter is a high-pressure homogenization technique based on the design of microchannels with specific geometrical characteristics. This technique is attracting much interest since it is able to produce systems with extremely low mean diameters and its easiness scale-up. In addition, this technique can be used to develop food systems with bioactive agents that can be applied to enhance nutraceutical and delivery systems.

This upcoming Special Issue of Applied Sciences will focus on recent developments and applications of the use of microfluidic technology applied to food systems. Advances in the field of encapsulation or design of new food products using microfluidics will be considered. We would like to invite you to submit or recommend original research papers for the “Microfluidic Technology in Food Processing” Special Issue.

Dr. Jenifer Santos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • microfluidization
  • nanoemulsions
  • food products
  • encapsulation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4594 KiB  
Article
Preparation of Nanoemulgels Containing Lemon Essential Oil and Pectin: Physical Stability and Rheological Properties
by José Muñoz, María-Carmen Alfaro-Rodríguez, Paula Prieto-Vargas, Carlos Lobo and María Carmen Garcia
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12662; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312662 - 25 Nov 2023
Viewed by 774
Abstract
Nanoemulgels are novel formulations of great interest for their use as dual-release systems and as fat substitutes in foods. Lemon essential oil, with a large number of benefits due to its antimicrobial, antifungal, and medicinal properties, and low methoxyl pectin, a natural polysaccharide [...] Read more.
Nanoemulgels are novel formulations of great interest for their use as dual-release systems and as fat substitutes in foods. Lemon essential oil, with a large number of benefits due to its antimicrobial, antifungal, and medicinal properties, and low methoxyl pectin, a natural polysaccharide capable of gelling by adding divalent ions such as calcium, are very appropriate ingredients to produce nanoemulgels with potential applications in industries such as cosmetics, agrochemistry, pharmaceuticals, or food. In this work, lemon-essential-oil-in-water nanoemulgels containing low methoxyl pectin derived from citrus peels were prepared following a three-step process that involves the preparation of a nanoemulsion, a pectin gel, and the mixture of both. In the first stage, the stirring time and the rotational rate employed during the mixing step were assessed. Once the preparation protocol was established, the pectin gel/nanoemulsion mass ratio was investigated. Different techniques were combined to evaluate the influence of the processing and the composition variables on the particle size distribution, mean diameters, flow curves, and physical stability of different emulgels obtained. It was found that the processing variables studied, stirring time, and rotational rate, do not influence the mean particle size of the emulgel, with values matching those of the starting nanoemulsion. However, 3 min and 200 rpm were selected for exhibiting the lowest TSI values. Regarding the composition, a higher content of pectin gel caused a higher viscosity, and therefore a higher physical stability, with the 75P/25E emulgel being the most stable. Aggregation of gel particles, because the pectin gel was really a sheared gel, was the main responsible contributor to the results obtained. This work highlights the importance of the preparation and formulation variables to develop stable, innovative formulations based on nanoemulgels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Technology in Food Processing)
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9 pages, 1215 KiB  
Article
Relationship between HLB Number and Predominant Destabilization Process in Microfluidized Nanoemulsions Formulated with Lemon Essential Oil
by Jenifer Santos, Maria-Carmen Alfaro-Rodríguez, Lili Vega and José Muñoz
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 5208; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13085208 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1181
Abstract
Lemon essential oil (LEO) is associated with a multitude of health benefits due to its anticancer, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. Its drawback is that it is very sensitive to oxidation by heat. For this reason, researchers are increasingly investigating the use [...] Read more.
Lemon essential oil (LEO) is associated with a multitude of health benefits due to its anticancer, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties. Its drawback is that it is very sensitive to oxidation by heat. For this reason, researchers are increasingly investigating the use of LEO in nanoemulsions. In this work, we used laser diffraction, rheology and multiple light scattering techniques to study the effects of different HLB numbers (indicating different mixtures of Tween 80 and Span 20) on the physical stability of nanoemulsions formulated with LEO. We found that different HLB numbers induced different destabilization mechanisms in these emulsions. An HLB number lower than 12 resulted in an Ostwald ripening effect; an HLB number higher than 12 resulted in coalescence. In addition, all the developed nanoemulsions exhibited Newtonian behavior, which could favor the mechanism of creaming. All emulsions exhibited not only a growth in droplet size, but also a creaming with aging time. These findings highlight the importance of selecting the right surfactant to stabilize nanoemulsions, with potential applications in the food industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microfluidic Technology in Food Processing)
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