Dispersion and Dissolution of Hydrocolloids

亲水胶体的分散和溶解

• 批准号: EP/W029065/1
• 负责人: Michael Adams
• 金额: $ 70.26万
• 依托单位: University of Birmingham
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FW029065%2F1
• 关键词: Dispersion; Dissolution; Hydrocolloids

Hydrocolloids such as starch, carboxymethyl cellulose, guar gum, pectin and carrageenan have many industrial applications including textile and carpet printing, paper production, foods, personal care, home care, pharmaceutical and biomedical products. They are widely used for modifying the rheology and texture of formulations, stabilising microstructures and enhancing organoleptic properties and are increasingly being investigated as agents in delivery systems for high value and high functional applications, such as encapsulation and controlled release in pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, animal feed, agrochemical, household care and cosmetics industries. Invariably, they have to be mixed with water in order to allow swelling/dissolution to occur. However, the surfaces of the granules or encapsulates become sticky when in contact with water and this can often lead to aggregation that prevents complete swelling/dissolution. The aim of the current proposal is to develop generic numerical models that will be able to identify the optimal dispersion conditions. The interaction of water with HCs is extremely complex with the rapid formation of an outer gel layer, which causes aggregation that inhibits internal capillary flow of water into the pores so that swelling/dissolution has to rely on the much slower process of diffusion. In order to determine the optimal mixing conditions, the project will model these processes from the molecular to the industrial scale. This so-called multiphysics multiscale strategy will involve molecular dynamics, finite element analysis, discrete element modelling coupled with computational fluid dynamics and population balance modelling. It will include an experimental programme to measure the physical and mechanical properties of the hydrocolloids and also mixing measurements to validate the modelling.

水胶体如淀粉、羧甲基纤维素、瓜尔胶、果胶和角叉菜胶具有许多工业应用，包括纺织品和地毯印刷、造纸、食品、个人护理、家庭护理、药物和生物医学产品。它们被广泛用于改变制剂的流变学和质地、稳定微观结构和增强感官特性，并且越来越多地被研究作为用于高价值和高功能应用的递送系统中的试剂，例如药物、营养品、食品、动物饲料、农用化学品、家庭护理和化妆品工业中的包封和控释。因此，它们必须与水混合以允许发生溶胀/溶解。然而，颗粒或胶囊的表面在与水接触时变得粘稠，并且这通常会导致阻止完全溶胀/溶解的聚集。本提案的目的是开发通用数值模型，以便能够确定最佳分散条件。水与HC的相互作用极其复杂，快速形成外部凝胶层，这导致聚集，抑制水进入孔隙的内部毛细流动，使得溶胀/溶解必须依赖于慢得多的扩散过程。为了确定最佳的混合条件，该项目将从分子到工业规模对这些过程进行建模。这种所谓的多物理场多尺度战略将涉及分子动力学、有限元分析、离散元建模以及计算流体动力学和种群平衡建模。它将包括一个实验方案，以测量水胶体的物理和机械性能，以及混合测量，以验证建模。