Modification of the superficial properties of microchannels for the production of Resveratrol loaded emulsions

• Grant number: 22/04574-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Rosiane Lopes da Cunha
• Grantee: Laura Pastori Ottani
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/27354-3 - Architecture of colloidal delivery systems: what is the role of structure on the digestibility?, AP.TEM

Abstract

The transport of lipophilic bioactive compounds in oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions has been shown to be an efficient strategy for their protection and delivery to target sites. The highest efficiency of these carriers can be achieved in emulsions with low polydispersity and high stability, which can be produced in microfluidic devices. PDMS-based microfluidic devices are the most used, due to their ease of reproduction, low cost, good mechanical properties in wide temperature ranges, low toxicity and transparency. However, the high hydrophobicity of PDMS in its native form precludes its use in the production of O/W emulsions, as the continuous phase is hydrophilic, inversion of phases occurs. In order to overcome this limitation, oxygen plasma treatment can be applied to PDMS in order to make it hydrophilic for relatively short periods. On the other hand, oxygen plasma treatment results in a high negative surface charge that may limit the use of certain emulsifiers, due to their interaction with the device wall. In this sense, the technique of layer-by-layer deposition of polyelectrolytes can be used to modulate the surface charge and wettability characteristics of PDMS-based surfaces, in order to minimize the interaction of the emulsifier with the wall. In this context, this project aims to produce hydrophilic PDMS using oxygen plasma techniques and layer-by-layer deposition of different low-cost, food-grade biopolymers, with the objective of producing hydrophilic microfluidic devices that can be used for the production of O/W emulsions in the encapsulation of resveratrol. Given this context, it is expected that this study will contribute significantly to the development of low-cost microfluidic devices suitable for handling water-based food matrices. (AU)