Synthesis and characterization of inulin and alginate aerogel using supercritical technology

• Grant number: 17/14906-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2017
• Effective date (End): October 31, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Juliane Viganó
• Grantee: Emily Cristi Marques
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present work aims to apply supercritical technology to obtain aerogel of inulin and alginate using different concentration of polysaccharids and cross-linking agents. Aerogel is defined as an extremely light and nanoporous material derived from a gel whose liquid part has been replaced by a gas. The interest in this class of nanoporous materials has grown because of its applications in food, biomedical and pharmaceutical areas. The main characteristics of these materials are open porous structure and high specific surface area. Its porosity varies from 90 to 99%, and its density is low. These characteristics promote advantages such as bioavailability and the capacity of carrying target compounds. The project is divided into three stages: I) obtaining the hydrogel by dripping the polymer solution into cross-linking agent solution; II) substitution of water for ethanol to obtain the alcoholgel; and III) drying using supercritical CO2 to obtain the aerogel. The aerogel will be analyzed in terms of the size of the macrospheres, the specific surface area, the average pore diameter and the specific mass. It is expected to obtain an aerogel with high porosity, high specific surface area, and low specific mass. (AU)