Abstract
Oleogels are lipid-based soft materials composed of large fractions of oil (> 85%) developed as saturated and hydrogenated fat substitutes to reduce cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity. Promising oleogels are unstable during storage, and to improve their stability careful control of the crystalline network is necessary. However, this is unattainable with state-of-the-art technologies. We employ ultrasonic standing wave (USSW) fields to modify oleogel structure. During crystallization, the growing crystals move towards the US-SW nodal planes. Homogeneous, dense bands of microcrystals form independently of oleogelator type, concentration, and cooling rate. The thickness of these bands is proportional to the USSW wavelength. These new structures act as physical barriers in reducing the migration kinetics of a liposoluble colorant compared to statically crystallized oleogels. These results may extend beyond oleogels to potentially be used wherever careful control of the crystallization process and final structure of a system is needed, such as in the cosmetics, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food industries.
Highlights
Lowering the intake of saturated fats, for example, by using oleogels rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids can help reduce cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity
The behavior of crystallizing oleogels under the USSW field was predicted using the finite element method of simulation, and the dynamics of oleogelator crystals in the USSW field was derived by modelling the acoustophoretic force and drag force acting on disk-shaped particles
We demonstrated that in our experimental conditions a USSW field can be applied as a robust method for oleogel preparation independent of oleogelator type, oleogelator concentration and cooling rate (1 °C min−1 and 10 °C min−1)
Summary
Lowering the intake of saturated fats, for example, by using oleogels rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids can help reduce cardiovascular diseases caused by obesity. Fat, the application of shear force during crystallization aligns the crystals and decreases the oil migration rate due to a more densely packed crystal network (increased tortuosity of the system). This makes these systems more stable[24,25]. To improve the storage stability of oleogels, fine control of the assembling of the crystalline network is necessary Such control can be achieved by exposing the oleogels to ultrasonic standing waves (US-SWs). Ultrasound travelling into a medium and reflecting off a surface interferes with the incident wave, creating regions of no displacement (nodes) and regions of maximum displacement (anti-nodes) USSWs can potentially be used as a platform technology to obtain fine control of the crystallization process of systems that contain a growing crystalline network
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