Oleogels and Organogels: A Promising Tool for New Functionalities

Dear Colleagues,

Organogels and Oleogels are semi-solid materials which contain a large fraction of organic solvents and liquid oil entrapped in a network of structuring molecules. Oleogels have been used for structuring edible oils, e.g., sunflower oil, wheat germ oil. These formulations are regarded as a particular class of organogels. Organogels are used for the gelification of organic solvents. These formulations appear as gels and solid-like structures that, according to the field of application, can be used to produce creams and mimic fats having a low amount of trans and saturated fatty acids. In the last decade, there has been an increasing interest in these structures, not only from a scientific point of view, i.e., studying new molecules and methodologies for the gelification, but also from a technological point of view, where researchers and companies have envisioned these structures as a way to overcome certain challenges and/or create new and innovative products. One of the exciting applications of oleogels is the delivery of functional molecules, where the incorporation of oil-soluble functional compounds can be explored. These can be performed not only at macroscale but also at micro- and nanoscale, resulting in different release behaviors and also different applications. Functionality can also be achieved by the replacement of saturated fats by unsaturated ones rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

This Special Issue will provide the possibility to researchers around the world to present and discuss the most recent works on the development, production, characterization, and applications of oleogels and organogels. It will be focused on oleogels and organogels to deliver functional molecules in food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical applications. It should discuss the gelification mechanism of oleogels and organogels and the incorporation of functional compounds, but also their use for fat replacement.

Dr. Miguel Cerqueira
Dr. Fabio Valoppi
Prof. Dr. Kunal Pal
Guest Editors

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