This technology creates eco-friendly, food-safe colorants by forming edible photonic nanostructures from natural colorants in water. Using microfluidic devices and controlled thermal processes, it enhances color stability and brightness, providing a safer alternative to synthetic additives.
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Current approaches to natural food colorants face significant challenges that limit their effectiveness and marketability. Despite decades of research, many natural colorants are still plagued by issues of purity and reaction stability. They tend to degrade quickly, have a narrow color spectrum, and often fail to achieve the brightness and hue stability of synthetic counterparts. Researchers have attempted to address these limitations through innovative methods such as microbial fermentation and encapsulation techniques. However, these methods often involve complex multi-material combinations and additional processing steps, complicating their application and regulatory approval. Moreover, existing methods for producing structural colorants that do not fade under light, heat, or pH changes are not yet scalable for industrial use. This underscores the need for a more reliable and scalable solution to produce stable, vibrant, and food-safe natural colorants.
Northeastern University researchers developed a technology that centers on the creation of edible photonic nanostructures using natural food colorants. By leveraging the natural chemistry of colorants, the process controls their aggregation and precipitation into nanostructures within a confined surface area, such as a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion. This method involves manipulating hydrogen bonding, molecular solubility, and thermodynamics in water to produce monodispersed organic particles. Utilizing a continuous flow reactor with a microfluidic device, stable emulsions are generated, followed by thermal treatment to catalyze nanoparticle formation. The product is then isolated and purified using density-based flow sorting to yield nanoparticles rich in coloration.
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