Researchers Develop Nanoparticle to Slow Oxidation, Extend Shelf Life

Purdue University scientists have reportedly altered a nanoparticle found in sweet corn to prevent oxidation and spoilage, thus offering a way to extend the shelf life of foods, cosmetics and other products containing emulsified lipids. Siqi L Scheffler, et al., “Phytoglycogen Octenyl Succinate, an Amphiphilic Carbohydrate Nanoparticle, and ε-Polylysine To Improve Lipid Oxidative Stability of Emulsions,” Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry, December 2009. According to a December 8, 2009, press release, researchers with Purdue’s Whistler Center for Carbohydrate Research “successfully modified the phytoglycogen nanoparticle, a starch-like substance that makes up nearly 30 percent of the dry mass of some sweet corn. The modification allows the nanoparticle to attach to oils and emulsify them while also acting as a barrier to oxidation, which causes food to become rancid.” Known as phytoglycogen octenyl succinate (PG-OS), the nanoparticle when combined with food-grade e-polylysine “significantly increased the amount of time it took for oxidation to ruin the oil droplets [in food], in some cases doubling the shelf life of the model product.”

“This can be widely used in the food industry, cosmetics and nutritional supplements, any system in which the oxidation of lipids is a concern,” the lead author was quoted as saying. “The shelf life of a product can be low and the quality of the food can become bad because of the oxidation of the lipids.”