Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) for protein, food processing, material science and nanotechnology research

了解食品和其他相关纳米结构的材料特性是开发用于食品、人类健康和工业应用的新型可持续产品的组成部分。对相关食品和其他材料的热性能进行定性和定量评估，将使研究人员能够预测材料在加工和储存等单位操作过程中的行为。食品原料性质复杂，含有不同聚合物和化合物的混合物，这会改变它们的热学性质。在马尼托巴大学食品与人类营养科学系，2007年购买的只有一个已有15年历史的差示扫描量热仪(DSC)系统，目前由于多个软件和连接问题而处于故障边缘。如果我们现有的已有15年历史、被多个研究小组大量使用、不再支持服务的DSC(或其任何部分)失败，申请者的研究计划和HQP培训将严重中断。因此，购买Discovery 2500 Auto DSC的人、Bandara博士和Koksel博士(共同申请人)以及其他用户(Malalgoda博士、Scanlon博士、Beta博士、Aluko博士和House博士)将可以使用所需的设备来研究包括复杂转变在内的热性质。Bandara博士将使用新的DSC研究用于开发生物基和生物医学材料的蛋白质、木质素和碳水化合物等可再生聚合物的热特性、提取和加工对食品配料热特性的影响、纳米材料对生物聚合物热特性的影响，以及基于蛋白质的输送系统的热稳定性。Koksel博士将研究淀粉-蛋白质混合物的效果及其对膨化膨化零食和肉类类似物热性能的影响，以及加工对充气食品热性能的影响。此外，其他研究人员将在他们的研究项目中使用新的DSC。所有上述NSERC和加拿大研究主席项目资助的研究项目都需要及时获得具有高样本操作能力的新DSC，以生成高质量的科学数据和出版物。所要求的设备也将是共同申请者开展的多样化和多学科研究计划的组成部分，以培训食品行业所需的下一代HQP。

Understanding the food and other related nanostructures' material properties is an integral part of developing novel sustainable products for food, human health, and industrial applications. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the related food and other materials' thermal properties will allow researchers to predict materials behavior during unit operations such as processing and storage. Food materials are complex in nature and contain a blend of different polymers and compounds, which make changes in their thermal properties. At the Department of Food & Human Nutritional Science, University of Manitoba, there is only one 15-year-old Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) system that was purchased in 2007, and it is in the brink of failure at the moment with multiple software and connectivity issues. Should our current 15-years-old DSC (or any of its parts) that is heavily used by multiple research groups and no longer supported for service fails, the applicants' research programs and training of their HQPs will be interrupted severely. Therefore, the purchase of this Discovery 2500 Auto DSC, Drs. Bandara and Koksel (Co-applicants), and other users (Drs. Malalgoda, Scanlon, Beta, Aluko, and House) will have access to the required equipment to investigate the thermal properties including complex transitions. Dr. Bandara will use the new DSC to study the thermal properties of renewable polymers such as proteins, lignin, and carbohydrates used to develop biobased and biomedical materials, the impact of extraction and processing on thermal properties of food ingredients, the effect of nanomaterials on thermal properties of biopolymers, and the thermal stability of protein-based delivery systems. Dr. Koksel will study the effect of starch-protein blends and their impact on the thermal properties of extruded puffed snacks and meat analogs and the impact of processing on aerated foods' thermal properties. Also, other researchers will use the new DSC for their research programs. All the above NSERC and Canada Research Chair program-funded research programs require timely access to a new DSC with high sample operating capacity to generate high-quality scientific data and publications. The requested equipment will also be an integral part of the diverse and multidisciplinary research program carried out by co-applicants to train next generation HQP's required for food industries.