"In this project we have used creative integration of concepts and methods from multiple disciplines such as pharmaceutical science, food chemistry, nanotechnology, particle engineering for engineering the particle characteristics to enhance their Pickering ability to stabilize the structures e.g. emulsions which can be further used to design food products, which are rich in healthy functional components & less in fat.
In this regard, I have recently developed a novel and innovative bottom-up approach for the fabrication of nanoparticles using microwave energy. This microwave assisted nanonization technology can be used to fabricate particles of organic compounds (bioactives and drug compounds) to engineer their particle charecteristics to alter their Pickering ability. Further, this nanonization technology can also be used to overcome the problem of low aqueous solubility by manipulating particle charecteristics such as size, shape and polymorphism. Another key advantage of using microwave energy is that, it allows nanoparticle fabrication without the use of organic solvents (using superheated water) or it enables efficient removal of organic solvents from the reaction mixture due to solvent specific heating behavior, which depends on solvents dielectric properties. Due to rising environmental concerns, such sustainable processing technologies are becoming increasingly important. In this direction, our invention is a step change in the development of green processing technology for particle engineering in food and pharmaceutical sector. This work resulted in the patent application (“Novel Nanonization"") and also this was presented in the 7th International Colloids Conference in Spain.
My work also focuses on the fabrication of micro/nanostructured particles to engineer the food microstructure to enhance its functional properties. Specific contributions in this area include the use of nanonization technology to enhance the Pickering ability of particles, for example, curcumin by manipulating the particle behaviour at the oil and water interface. Here nanonization technology has been used to fabricate nanosized and monodispersed particles of curcumin, which is polydispersed, and micron sized particle in its native form. This nanonized curcumin has been used to stabilize the oil in water Pickering emulsions. These Pickering stabilized emulsions can be used to design the food microstructure to reduce the fat content e.g. in mayonnaise. Use of ABC for emulsion stabilization is a particularly attractive strategy because they not only stabilise the structure (emulsion) but also increases the nutritional value of the foods (i.e. dual functionality). This work has been published recently in the Food Chemistry Journal. Further, initial results were presented in the IUFoST 2016, 18th World Congress of Food Science and Technology and Food CIM Annual Conference - 2016. University of Nottingham, UK"
