Award details

Probing oil droplet interaction and coalescence

Reference	BBS/E/F/00041958
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Victor Morris
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Peter Wilde
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	150,737
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/08/2005
End date	31/07/2008
Duration	36 months

Abstract

Food emulsions are important components of a Western diet. Current commercial emulsion-based foods have been developed from traditional dairy products and ambient-stable dressings to become crucial elements of chilled, UHT and frozen ready meals. They are now manufactured in bulk for catering purposes. Continuing expansion in distribution networks mean that it is increasingly important to preserve the physical state of these products over an extended time period. In developing new products, and enhancing the quality of current products, there is need to understand physical factors that dictate the structure and the shelf-life of the products. The structure and stability of food emulsions depends on the interaction between proteins and surfactants at the oil-water interface. This proposal examines the hypothesis that it is possible to rationally modify and control the interfacial structures formed by proteins and surfactants in order to control the texture and shelf-life of the emulsion. In particular the project will examine how to manipulate the interaction and association of oil (or liquid fat) droplets in order to produce the desired texture in whipped food products and ice creams. The experiments involve direct measurements, for the first time, of interactions between a droplet attached to an Atomic Force Microscope (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. 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

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