Mitsutoshi Nakajima

Monodispersed Droplet Formation Caused by Interfacial Tension from Microfabricated Channel Array

Emulsions have been utilized in various industries. Physical and qualitative stability depend on their size and size distribution. Stability and resistance to creaming of emulsions are influenced by their size.1, 2 Furthermore, size and size distribution determine the characteristics and abilities of emulsions. Rheology, appearance, chemical reactivity, and physical properties are influenced by both the average size and size distribution.1, 3 Monodispersed emulsions are applicable to valuable materials, such as drug delivery vehicles and as precursors of monodispersed beads for column chromatography. Monodispersed emulsions are also useful for fundamental studies because the interpretation of experimental results is much simpler than that for polydispersed emulsions.1 However, size control of these MS is not so easy.

Regeneration of Used Frying Oil Using Hydrophobic Membrane Process

A study was carried out to improve the quality of used frying oils and to assess the feasibility of recycling as edible oils using a membrane process. Experiments were conducted with used frying oils in a flat membrane batch cell using hydrophobic polymeric membranes. NTGS-2200 membrane, nonporous denser membrane, improved the color and viscosity of the used frying oil to the extent of fresh oil, and also reduced the total polar materials and oxidation products, which normally lead to the deterioration of frying oils. The membrane process was effective for improving the overall quality. Transport mechanism in the membrane is mainly controlled by solution-diffusion effect. Preferential permeation constituents in the membrane would be more non-polar and small-size constituents. The permeate flux must be improved for commercial application.

Characterization of Globin Hydrolyzates by Light Scattering

Publisher Summary Globin hydrolyzates have successfully been prepared with citric acid, in order to improve a better solubility and more excellent ability on gel formation induced by heating than intact globin, and to control the texture of gel. This chapter describes the detailed gel network formation of globin hydrolyzate by light scattering methods. The globin hydrolyzates, containing mainly 8 kinds of peptides, are obtained by hydrolyzing the globin with 8 M citric acid. In the process of gel formation, a non-covalent bond between the globin β-chain and the peptide β-1 forms a rod-shaped aggregate with a length of 130–140 nm and a molecular weight of about 870,000 Da. The peptide α-1 originating from globin α-chain has a high hydrophilicity, and shows the properties of association and dissociation depending on concentration and temperature. The hypothetical gel formation mechanism of the globin hydrolyzates is presented as follows: Initially the randomly coiled polymers are produced by about 8 molecules of peptide α-1, next the cross linked structures are constructed between the length of 130–140 nm rod-shaped aggregates, and then the network is gradually formed and the gel is finally formed.