Dear Colleagues,

Nanotechnologies are being increasingly explored as revolutionary opportunities in many fields related to the food sectors, from agricultural production (nanofertilizers or nanoencapsulated herbicides/insecticides) to industry processing, including the use of nanomaterials and nanoformulations to provide consumers with healthier and safer food, the development of advanced food contact materials for innovative packaging, and the enhancement of the shelf life and traceability of products. 

Although nanotechnologies may offer benefits to industries and consumers, the specific properties and characteristics of nanomaterials need to be considered for any potential health risks. The physicochemical characteristics of nanomaterials are important as they can affect their toxicokinetic behavior and therefore influence the outcome of the safety assessment. Therefore, a primary challenge for the effective use of nanotechnologies in the food sectors is represented by the possibility to qualitatively and quantitatively identify and detect the presence of nanomaterials in such matrices and to characterize their physicochemical properties, e.g., size and size distribution, elemental composition, morphology, structure, surface properties, and physical and chemical properties, including dissolution/degradation behavior. 

This Special Issue is open to expert reviews and original contributions dealing with advances in analytical methods for the identification, detection, quantification, and physicochemical characterization of constituting components and impurities of pristine nanomaterials, as well as the investigation of complex matrices and systems involved in food -related applications. Papers on analytical methods are welcome and can include, but are not limited to, the following: spectrometry; spectroscopy; microscopy; tomography. Manuscripts focused on quality control and metrology aspects of nano-specific measurements are also welcome. Overall, this Special Issue has the ambition to represent a virtual space to host comprehensive reviews on the state of the art, expert point of views, new insights, original research, innovative studies, and advancements in the complex and yet-to-be-explored field of nanomaterials in food and related applications.

Dr. Daniele Passeri
Dr. Federica Aureli
Dr. Angela Sorbo
Guest Editors

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. Foods 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 2900 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.

• nanomaterial
• nanoparticle
• nanotechnology applications
• mass spectrometry
• food production and processing
• microscopy
• imaging
• spectroscopy
• tomography
• nanoscale characterization
• safety assessment