Recent Developments in Food Gels (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Chemistry and Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 December 2024 | Viewed by 2219

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Food Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 24205, Taiwan
Interests: nanoscience and nanotechnology; nanodiagnostics and nanotherapeutics; sensors; food/environmental/agricultural waste valorization; food and environmental toxins—analysis and treatment; food and environmental analytical chemistry; novel and green extraction/pretreatment techniques; chromatography—method development; pharmacokinetics and bioavailability; adsorption science and technology
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Gels are polymeric colloids with viscoelastic properties and can incorporate large quantities of water, air or oil within their 3D networks; due to their unique properties, they have great potential for broader applications. Although some challenges in designing gels have been overcome due to major breakthroughs in synthetic polymer chemistry, emerging challenges, such as source renewability, cost effectiveness and sustainability, remain. Therefore, there is considerable demand for gels prepared from natural sources. Gels prepared from food biopolymers such as proteins and polysaccharides have great potential to meet these challenges because of the affordable, edible, biocompatible, biodegradable and renewable nature of their building blocks. Additionally, they possess a range of functions and physical gelation characteristics. Compared to synthetic gels, food gels play a critical role in modern food design to achieve the desired sensorial, rheological, textural and functional properties; moreover, they are used to preserve metastable food structures to increase shelf-life, replace fats, enhance satiety to reduce food intake, and aid in the design of complex food shapes through 3D printing. Further research is necessary to unravel the fabrication methods, gelling mechanisms, novel design approaches and structural/mechanical properties of food gels. Furthermore, it is important to investigate how such food gel design principles alter the rheological and tribological properties of foods to enable their quality improvement and nutrient modification without affecting their sensory properties; moreover, researchers should investigate how these gels may be used in targeted drug/bioactive delivery within the gastrointestinal tract. 

Thus, this Special Issue on Recent Developments in Food Gels will present research papers and review articles on topics including, but not limited to: 

  • Food gel fabrication using novel processing methods;
  • Polymerization/crosslinking methods;
  • The elucidation of molecular mechanisms;
  • Innovative analytical approaches to characterizing the molecular structure–function relationship of food gels;
  • Food gel–body interaction.

Dr. Baskaran Stephen Inbaraj
Guest Editor

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. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2100 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.

Keywords

  • hydrogels (macrogels)/microgels/nanogels
  • oleogels/aerogels/lipogels/emulgels
  • multicomponent/mixed gels
  • food gel networks
  • natural biopolymers
  • stimuli-responsive food gels
  • herbal gels
  • self-assembled gels
  • food product development
  • food fortification
  • GIT uptake and release
  • natural product encapsulation and delivery

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 3751 KiB  
Article
Microencapsulation Efficiency of Carboxymethylcellulose, Gelatin, Maltodextrin, and Acacia for Aroma Preservation in Jasmine Instant Tea
by Muneeba Naseer Chaudhary, Xiaolin Li, Siyue Yang, Damao Wang, Liyong Luo, Liang Zeng and Wei Luo
Gels 2024, 10(10), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10100670 - 21 Oct 2024
Viewed by 510
Abstract
Enhancing the sensory appeal of jasmine instant tea, particularly its aroma, poses a significant challenge due to the loss of volatile organic compounds during conventional processing. This study introduces a novel approach to address this issue through the application of microencapsulation techniques, aimed [...] Read more.
Enhancing the sensory appeal of jasmine instant tea, particularly its aroma, poses a significant challenge due to the loss of volatile organic compounds during conventional processing. This study introduces a novel approach to address this issue through the application of microencapsulation techniques, aimed at preserving these key aromatic elements. Our investigation focused on the encapsulating agents gelatin, acacia gum, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), and maltodextrin, chosen for their compatibility with the volatile organic compounds of tea. A statistical analysis was conducted on the analytical results through comprehensive analytical techniques like Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA), and Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) analysis for microcapsule characterization. The statistical analysis revealed gelatin to be a particularly effective encapsulating medium, preserving an aroma profile more akin to fresh tea. The statistical analysis confirmed the reliability of these findings, highlighting the potential of microencapsulation in refining the quality of jasmine instant tea products. The results of this research suggest that microencapsulation could be instrumental in improving the sensory quality and shelf life of instant tea products, offering new opportunities for product enhancement in the beverage industry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Food Gels (2nd Edition))
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21 pages, 4120 KiB  
Article
Effect of Callus Cell Immobilization on the Textural and Rheological Properties, Loading, and Releasing of Grape Seed Extract from Pectin Hydrogels
by Elena Günter, Oxana Popeyko, Fedor Vityazev and Sergey Popov
Gels 2024, 10(4), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels10040273 - 17 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1188
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to prepare pectin hydrogels with immobilized Lemna minor callus cells and to identify the effect of cell immobilization on the textural, rheological, and swelling properties; loading; and releasing of grape seed extract (GSE) from the hydrogels. [...] Read more.
The purpose of the present study was to prepare pectin hydrogels with immobilized Lemna minor callus cells and to identify the effect of cell immobilization on the textural, rheological, and swelling properties; loading; and releasing of grape seed extract (GSE) from the hydrogels. Hardness, adhesiveness, elasticity, the strength of linkage, and complex viscosity decreased with increasing cell content in the hydrogels based on pectin with a degree of methyl esterification (DM) of 5.7% (TVC) and during incubation in gastrointestinal fluids. An increase in the rheological properties and fragility of pectin/callus hydrogels based on pectin with a DM of 33.0% (CP) was observed at a cell content of 0.4 g/mL. TVC-based pectin/callus beads increased their swelling in gastrointestinal fluids as cell content increased. TVC-based beads released GSE very slowly into simulated gastric and intestinal fluids, indicating controlled release. The GSE release rate in colonic fluid decreased with increasing cell content, which was associated with the accumulation of GSE in cells. CP-based beads released GSE completely in the intestinal fluid due to weak textural characteristics and rapid degradation within 10 min. Pectin/callus hydrogels have the ability to preserve GSE for a long time and may have great potential for the development of proanthocyanidin delivery systems due to their novel beneficial physicochemical and textural properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Developments in Food Gels (2nd Edition))
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Effect of Crude Wax from HomChaiya Rice Bran Oil on Palm Oil based Oleogels Properties and Oxidative Stability

Author: Karthikeyan Venkatachalam

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