Encapsulation of omega-3 fatty acids using zein or other suitable carriers through electrospraying

长链omega-3多不饱和脂肪酸（如二十碳五烯酸（EPA）和二十二碳六烯酸（DHA））的健康益处已在许多研究中得到充分证明，例如保持整体健康和预防心血管和其他疾病。不幸的是，加拿大人的饮食中这些必需脂肪酸的含量普遍较低，因为他们很少食用鱼类和其他富含omega-3的食物。增加这些脂肪酸的膳食摄入量的一个途径是通过食用omega-3脂肪酸强化食品。然而，EPA和DHA在加工过程中暴露于氧气、热量和其他食品成分时会迅速降解，这使得将这些活性成分纳入食品中非常具有挑战性。此外，这些脂肪酸具有“鱼腥味”，会对强化食品的感官特性产生不利影响。为了克服这些问题，这些必需脂肪酸必须在添加到食物中之前加以保护。现有的胶囊技术生产的胶囊尺寸相对较大（数百微米），这对于某些食品应用来说不是最佳的。此外，所提供的屏障特性对于需要长保质期稳定性的食品系统来说是不够的。该项目将研究与电喷涂和封装技术相关的一些基本现象，以开发具有增强阻隔性能的亚微米胶囊。该项目预计将开发出新颖而强大的封装技术，使食品公司能够更容易地在其产品中添加omega-3脂肪酸，从而增加普通人群必需脂肪酸的总体摄入量。

The health benefits of long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g., eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acids (DHA)) have been well documented in many studies, such as for maintaining overall health and preventing cardiovascular and other diseases. Unfortunately, Canadian diets are generally low in these essential fatty acids, due to low consumption of fish and other omega-3 rich foods. One avenue to increase the dietary intake of these fatty acids is through the consumption of omega-3 fatty fortified food products. However, EPA and DHA degrade rapidly when exposed to oxygen, heat and other food components during processing, making the incorporation of these active components in food products very challenging. Moreover, these fatty acids have "fishy" odour that can adversely affect the organoleptic properties of the fortified products. To overcome these issues, these essential fatty acids must be protected before added to food. The existing encapsulation technologies produce capsules that are relative large in size (hundreds of micrometer), which are not optimal for certain food applications. In addition, the barrier properties provided are not adequate for food systems that required long shelf-life stability. This project will study a number of fundamental phenomena related to electrospraying and encapsulation technologies, to develop submicron capsules with enhanced barrier properties. The project is expected to result in the development of novel and robust encapsulation technology that will allow food companies to fortify their products more readily with omega-3 fatty acids, thereby increase the overall intake of the essential fatty acids in the general population.