Research articles · 15. March 2021
Hydrocolloids (e.g., agar and alginate) are substances that form gels or provide viscous dispersion in water, and are found in the cell wall of seaweeds. Seaweeds are known for a range of food applications and for their multiple biological properties, including antibacterial, antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, antitumour and antiviral. From an industrial application point of view, hydrocolloids exhibit the ability to be employed as gelling, stabilising, thickening and emulsifying agents, or for..
Research articles · 15. March 2021
Macroalgae are a relatively novel and untapped source of biologically active compounds (i.e., polysaccharides, proteins-peptides, lipids, polyphenols, and carotenoids) with promising applications in the food industry. The industrial utilization of high-value compounds as an alternative to traditional products requires the development of green, efficient, and sustainable extraction protocols. Microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) is currently one of the most promising technologies to generate...
Research articles · 15. March 2021
This work shows the characterization of (nano)cellulosic aerogels prepared from Posidonia oceanica waste biomass by means of confocal Raman microscopy (CRM). For this aim, aerogels were prepared by simple freeze‐drying of aqueous dispersions of four (nano)cellulosic fractions with different purification degrees, tested at two different concentrations (0.5% and 2%). These were then coated with polylactic acid (PLA) in order to improve their hydrophobicity and...
Research articles · 15. March 2021
Catalytic materials obtained by enzyme immobilization have multiple potential applications in the food industry. The choice of the immobilization method and support may be critical to define the properties of the immobilized enzyme compared to the soluble form. Although the use of immobilized enzymes shows multiple advantages, their catalytic efficiency is compromised in many instances. Molecular engineering techniques have been used to generate hybrid proteins where the enzyme of interest...
Research articles · 15. March 2021
Agar-based extracts from Gelidium sesquipedale were generated by heat and combined heat-sonication, with and without the application of alkali pre-treatment. Pre-treatment yielded extracts with greater agar contents; however, it produced partial degradation of the agar, reducing its molecular weight. Sonication produced extracts with lower agar contents and decreased molecular weights. A gelation mechanism is proposed based on the rheological and small angle scattering characterization of the...
Research articles · 15. March 2021
The residues generated after the extraction of agar from Gelidium sesquipedale by means of a hot-water treatment, with (NaOH+HW residue) and without (HW residue) an alkali pre-treatment have been valorized to produce high performance cellulosic films. Both residues were mainly composed of structural carbohydrates (in particular, agar), ashes and lipids. The residual agar could only be completely removed by applying a two-step process based on bleaching and alkaline treatments.
Research articles · 15. March 2021
Lightweight, hydrophobic, adsorbent pads based on aerogels from different cellulosic and nanocellulosic fractions extracted from Posidonia oceanica waste biomass were developed by a simple freeze-drying and PLA dipping method. The pure (nano)cellulosic aerogels presented highly porous structures, capable of adsorbing large amounts of oil (up to ~34 g oil/g aerogel); however, they lost their integrity when soaked in water. The incorporation of PLA hydrophobized the aerogels and improved...
News · 07. October 2020
Summary poster about the performance of biopolymers produced within BIOCARB-4-FOOD were presented during the Bioeconomy Congress in Hohenheim, Germany.
News · 07. October 2020
Our colleague Laura Pilar Gomez Barrio from Teagasc won the "Excellent Shotgun Communication Prize" during the Ultrasonics 2020 conference for her presentation titled "Ultrasound and Microwave-Assisted Agar Extraction from Macroalgae".
Research articles · 25. August 2020
The macroalgal hydrocolloid industry is a rapidly growing industry with an annual growth in the global production of 2–3 %. Hydrocolloids from macroalgae are mainly in the form of polysaccharides with other nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins. Due to its potential industrial applications, macroalgae have been used as raw materials for hydrocolloids extraction. Compared to the conventional extraction methods, emerging innovative assisted extraction technologies ...