L.M.C. Sagis

Extraction and characterisation of protein fractions from five insect species

Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas morio, Alphitobius diaperinus, Acheta domesticus and Blaptica dubia were evaluated for their potential as a future protein source. Crude protein content ranged from 19% to 22% (Dumas analysis). Essential amino acid levels in all insect species were comparable with soybean proteins, but lower than for casein. After aqueous extraction, next to a fat fraction, a supernatant, pellet, and residue were obtained, containing 17-23%, 33-39%, 31-47% of total protein, respectively. At 3% (w/v), supernatant fractions did not form stable foams and gels at pH 3, 5, 7, and 10, except for gelation for A. domesticus at pH 7. At 30% w/v, gels at pH 7 and pH 10 were formed, but not at pH 3 and pH 5. In conclusion, the insect species studied have potential to be used in foods due to: (1) absolute protein levels; (2) protein quality; (3) ability to form gels.

Mesostructure of fibrillar bovine serum albumin gels

The mesostructure of bovine serum albumin (BSA) at low pH was investigated. Rheological measurements were performed to determine the critical percolation concentration (c(p)). A decreasing c(p) with increasing ionic strength was found. Fibrils with a contour length of about 100-300 nm were found using transmission electron microscopy. The measured conversion of monomers into fibrils was independent of ionic strength (0.20-0.30 M). Dilution of BSA samples showed that the aggregation process is reversible and that there exists a critical concentration for the self-assembly of BSA. We explain the decreasing c(p) with increasing ionic strength in terms of an adjusted random contact model.

Rheology and structure of ovalbumin gels at low pH and low ionic strength

The objective of this study was to relate the rheological behavior of ovalbumin gels at low pH and low ionic strength to their mesoscopic structure, using rheological measurements and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). Varying pH, ionic strength and protein concentration, we obtained transparent solutions, transparent gels, opaque gels, or turbid gels, upon heating and subsequent cooling of the ovalbumin solutions. At equal pH and increasing salt concentration we found an increase in turbidity, suggesting that the structure of the aggregates changed from linear or branched to more clustered aggregates. The gel strength increased with increasing salt concentration. A similar trend was observed at equal ionic strength and increasing pH. TEM micrographs of ovalbumin aggregates at pH 2 and 15 mM NaCl show that the ovalbumin aggregates are linear. Increasing the pH from 2 to 3.5 results in structures that are still linear, but with a higher degree of clustering. No random aggregates were observed. TEM micrographs of the gel phase at pH 3.5 and 30 mM NaCl (turbid) show that the structure consists of linear aggregates organized in large clusters of approximately 230–350 nm. At pH 2 and 30 mM NaCl (transparent) the gel consists of single strands with a diameter of about 3.3–3.9 nm, i.e. one or at most two monomers thick.

Irreversible self-assembly of ovalbumin into fibrils and the resulting network rheology

The self-assembly of ovalbumin into fibrils and resulting network properties were investigated at pH 2, as a function of ionic strength. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the effect of ovalbumin concentration on the contour length was determined. The contour length was increasing with increasing ovalbumin concentration. TEM micrographs were made to investigate the effect of ionic strength on the contour length. In the measured ionic strength regime (0.01-0.035 M) fibrils of approximately equal length (+/-200 nm) were observed. TEM micrographs showed that the contour length of the fibrils, versus time after dilution, remained constant, which indicates that the self-assembly of ovalbumin is irreversible. Using the results of rheological measurements, we observed a decreasing critical percolation concentration with increasing ionic strength. We explain this result in terms of an adjusted random contact model for charged semiflexible fibrils. Hereby, this model has now been proven to be valid for fibril networks of beta-lg, BSA and, currently, for ovalbumin.

Polymer Microcapsules with a Fiber-Reinforced Nanocomposite Shell

Polymer microcapsules can be used as controlled release systems in drugs or in foods. Using layer-by-layer adsorption of common food proteins and polysaccharides, we produced a new type of microcapsule with tunable strength and permeability. The shell consists of alternating layers of pectin and whey protein fibrils, yielding a fiber-reinforced nanocomposite shell. The strength can be tightly controlled by varying the number of layers or the density and length of the fibrils in the protein layers. The mechanical stability of these microcapsules appears to be superior to that of currently available multilayer capsules. The method involves only standard unit operations and has the potential for scaling up to industrial production volumes.

Dynamics of controlled release systems based on water-in-water emulsions: A general theory

Phase-separated biopolymer solutions, and aqueous dispersions of hydrogel beads, liposomes, polymersomes, aqueous polymer microcapsules, and colloidosomes are all examples of water-in-water emulsions. These systems can be used for encapsulation and controlled release purposes, in for example food or pharmaceutical applications. The stress-deformation behavior of the droplets in these systems is very complex, and affected by mass transfer across the interface. The relaxation time of a deformation of a droplet may depend on interfacial properties such as surface tension, bending rigidity, spontaneous curvature, permeability, and interfacial viscoelasticity. It also depends on bulk viscoelasticity and composition. A non-equilibrium thermodynamic model is developed for the dynamic behavior of these systems, which incorporates all these parameters, and is based on the interfacial transport phenomena (ITP) formalism. The ITP formalism allows us to describe all water-in-water emulsions with one general theory. Phase-separated biopolymer solutions, and dispersions of hydrogel beads, liposomes, polymersomes, polymer microcapsules, and colloidosomes are basically limiting cases of this general theory with respect to bulk and interfacial rheological behavior.

Rheo-optics and food systems

Abstract Recent developments in 2D and 3D rheo-optics in foods and non-foods are being reviewed. These techniques are shown to be very valuable to construct constitutive equations that describe the non-linear rheological behaviour in 2D and 3D and couple this behaviour to the mesoscopic structure of the system.

Surface rheological properties of liquid–liquid interfaces stabilized by protein fibrillar aggregates and protein–polysaccharide complexes

In this study we have investigated the surface rheological properties of oil–water interfaces stabilized by fibrils from lysozyme (long and semi-flexible and short and rigid ones), fibrils from ovalbumin (short and semi-flexible), lysozyme–pectin complexes, or ovalbumin–pectin complexes. We have compared these properties with those of interfaces stabilized by the native proteins. The surface dilatational and surface shear moduli were determined using an automated drop tensiometer and a stress controlled rheometer with biconical disk geometry. Results show that interfaces stabilized by complexes of these proteins with high-methoxyl pectin have higher surface shear and dilatational moduli than interfaces stabilized by the native proteins only. The interfaces stabilized by ovalbumin and lysozyme complexes have comparable shear and dilatational moduli though ovalbumin–pectin complexes are twice as large in radius as lysozyme–pectin complexes. Under most of the experimental conditions, interfaces stabilized by fibrils have the highest surface rheological moduli. The difference between long semi-flexible lysozyme fibrils or short rigid lysozyme fibrils is not pronounced in interfacial dilation rheology but significant in interfacial shear rheology. The complex surface shear moduli of interfaces stabilized by long semi-flexible fibrils are about 10 times higher than those of interfaces stabilized by short rigid fibrils, over a range of bulk concentrations. Interfaces stabilized by short and more flexible ovalbumin fibrils have a significantly higher surface shear modulus than those stabilized by longer and more rigid lysozyme fibrils. This study has shown that the use of such supra-molecular structural building blocks creates a wider range of microstructural features of the interface, with higher surface shear and dilatational moduli and a more complex dependence on strain.

Effects of flow on hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) fibril formation: length distribution, flexibility, and kinetics.

The effect of steady shear and turbulent flow on the formation of amyloid fibrils from hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) was studied. The conversion and size distribution of fibrils obtained by heating HEWL solutions at pH 2 were determined. The formation of fibrils was quantified using flow-induced birefringence. The size distribution was fitted using decay of birefringence measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The morphology of HEWL fibrils and the kinetics of their formation varied considerably depending on the flow applied. With increasing shear or stirring rate, more rod-like and shorter fibrils were obtained, and the conversion into fibrils was increased. The size distribution and final fibril concentration were significantly different from those obtained in the same heat treatment at rest. The width of the length distribution of fibrils was influenced by the homogeneity of the flow.

Novel surface-active oligofructose fatty acid mono-esters by enzymatic esterification

This article describes the synthesis of a series of oligofructose monoesters with fatty acids of different chain length (C8, C12, C16 and C18) to obtain food-grade surfactants with a range of amphiphilicity. Reactions were performed in a mixture of DMSO/Bu(t)OH (10/90 v/v) at 60°C and catalysed by immobilised Candida antarctica lipase B. MALDI-TOF-MS analysis showed that the crude reaction products were mixtures of unmodified oligofructose and mostly mono-esters. The conversion into mono-esters increased with the length of the fatty acid chain, reflecting the specificity of the lipase towards more lipophilic substrates. Reverse phase solid phase extraction was used to fractionate the products, which lead to sufficient purity (>93%) of the fatty acid esters for functionality testing. It was shown that derivatives of longer (C16 and C18) fatty acids were more efficient in lowering surface tension and gave a much higher dilatational modulus than derivatives of the shorter (C8 and C12) fatty acids.