Dispersed phase-mediated gelation in plant protein-stabilized nanoemulsions for improved functionality of foods

纳米乳液（内斯）由分散在连续相中的纳米液滴组成。近年来，由于其极高的稳定性，水包油内斯越来越多地被寻求用于食品和饮料中。然而，大多数使用的内斯是液体，并且凝胶内斯的独特功能特性，例如在较低油浓度下的凝胶化（具有卡路里降低潜力）和较高的凝胶强度，还没有被广泛地探索。为了解决这一知识差距并极大地扩大内斯在食品中的适用性，我的团队开发了独特的方法，将液体乳液转化为具有可调质地的凝胶内斯。我们发现，具有排斥相互作用的纳米液滴可以转化为具有更高的凝胶强度和凝胶化在较低的油体积分数的吸引力的相互作用。我们还发现，排斥NE凝胶化也可能与蛋白质。然而，尽管它们是新奇的，我们在这一领域取得了长足的进步，但在NE凝胶成功用于食品工业之前，仍然存在许多挑战。例如，我们对涉及基于植物蛋白的纳米乳液的胶体凝胶化的认识仍处于起步阶段。植物蛋白处于最近食品革命的前沿，用植物蛋白替代合成和动物源性乳化剂的需求正在改变行业的动态。因此，迫切需要更好地了解植物蛋白纳米乳液中分散液滴介导的凝胶化。为了应对这些挑战，我的研究计划的长期目标是增强控制NE形成，稳定性和凝胶化的结构-功能关系，目的是创造具有可调功能和健康促进特性的新型食品结构。在接下来的五年里，我的研究计划将以三个短期目标为指导。在目标1中，我们将开发关于纳米液滴尺寸、多分散性和紧密堆积之间的关系的基础知识库，以控制基于植物蛋白的NE凝胶化。目标2将重点关注一系列消耗剂诱导的吸引性消耗相互作用，以控制植物蛋白稳定NE凝胶的质地和流变学。最后，在目标3中，我们将通过改变pH和离子强度在植物蛋白稳定的油滴之间诱导更强的吸引力相互作用，并在比任何其他方法更低的油浓度下产生强NE凝胶。 总的来说，这些高度可行和相关的目标所产生的研究成果将为植物蛋白稳定的NE基食品的结构形成机制提供更深入的了解。新型NE凝胶的成功应用及其在低脂食品中的应用有望显著改善加工食品的结构和健康促进特性。当在研究项目中接受过培训的HQP加入劳动力队伍时，他们也将为加拿大提供实质性的竞争优势。

Nanoemulsions (NEs) consist of nanodroplets dispersed in a continuous phase. In recent years, compelled by their extremely high stability, oil-in-water NEs have increasingly been sought for their use in foods and beverages. However, most of the NEs used are liquid, and the unique functional properties of gelled NEs, such as gelation at a lower oil concentration (with a calorie reduction potential) and higher gel strength, have been vastly unexplored. To address this knowledge gap and vastly expand the applicability of NEs in food, my group has developed unique approaches to convert liquid emulsions into gelled NEs with tunable texture. We showed that nanodroplets with repulsive interactions could be transformed into attractive interactions with higher gel strength and gelation at lower oil volume fraction. We also discovered that repulsive NE gelation could also be possible with proteins. However, despite their novelty and our strides in this area, many challenges remain before the NE gels can be successfully used in the food industries. For example, our knowledge of colloidal gelation involving plant protein-based nanoemulsions is still in its infancy. Plant proteins are at the forefront of a recent food revolution, where demand for replacing synthetic and animal-derived emulsifiers with plant proteins are changing the dynamics of the industry. Therefore, there is an urgent need to better understand dispersed droplet mediated gelation in plant protein-based nanoemulsions. To address these challenges, the long-term goal of my research program is to enhance the structure-function relationship controlling NE formation, stability and gelation, with the aim of creating novel food structures with tunable functionality and health-promoting properties. Over the next five years, my research program will be guided by three short-term objectives. In objective 1, we will develop a fundamental knowledge base on the relationship between nanodroplet size, polydispersity and close-packing to control plant protein-based NE gelation. Objective 2 will focus on attractive depletion interactions induced by a range of depletants to control the texture and rheology of plant protein-stabilized NE gels. Finally, in objective 3, we will induce stronger attractive interactions among the plant protein-stabilized oil droplets by modifying pH and ionic strength and create strong NE gels at the lowest oil concentration than any other methods. Overall, research outputs stemming from these highly feasible and relevant objectives will provide greater insight into the mechanisms of structure formation in plant protein-stabilized NE-based foods. The successful utilization of novel NE gels and their application in reduced-fat foods are expected to lead to significant improvements in the structure and health-promoting properties of processed foods. When HQP trained in the research program join the workforce, they will also provide a substantial competitive edge to Canada.