Award details

Probing oil droplet interactions and coalescence

Reference	BB/C512729/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Victor Morris
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Mr Allan Gunning, Professor Peter Wilde
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Food Materials Science Division
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	215,178
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/08/2005
End date	31/07/2008
Duration	36 months

Abstract

The overall intention of the present proposal is to demonstrate that it is possible to develop methods for the rational processing of food emulsions to improve their stability and shelf-life, and hence to enhance their quality as food products. The research is targeted at rational manipulation of the molecular structure formed at the oil-water interface within the emulsion. The proposal tests the following hypotheses: firstly, that the interfacial composition and structure of emulsion droplets determines the interaction between droplets and dictates the structure and stability of the emulsion. Secondly, that by rational manipulation of the interfacial structure it is possible to control emulsion structure and stability. The aim is to test these hypotheses through direct measurement, for the first time, of the interaction between representative sized oil (or liquid fat) droplets in a liquid medium, as a function of interfacial composition and structure. The experiments involve direct measurements, for the first time, of interactions between a droplet attached to an AFM cantilever and a droplet attached to a surface. Separate experiments will be made to determine whether surface composition determines droplet deformation through controlling the interfacial tension or the elasticity of the interface. The effects of manipulating the interfacial structure and the composition of the bulk medium on droplet interaction and coalescence will be directly measured for pairs of droplets. This will be the first direct study of the effect of interfacial structure on the interaction between two deformable particles and will identify possible new effects of structure or structural reorganisation on droplet interaction. The study is the closest approximation that can currently be made to the types of interactions occurring between droplets in real emulsions. Finally the effects of interfacial structure on the interactions between liquid fat droplets will be studied, and the partial coalescence of these droplets observed directly after controlled partial solidification of the fat.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	X – not assigned to a current Research Topic
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

I accept the terms and conditions of use (opens in new window)

export PDF file

back to list new search