Projects
Controlling the Dynamics of Liquid Interface KU Leuven
Microrheology of complex fluid-fluid interfaces. KU Leuven
When fluids such as air, water and oil come in contact with each another, they often remain separated while interacting through an interface. Examples of this are a simple air-over-water system and various oil and water mixtures. More complex examples include foams, emulsions and biological membranes. The behavior of these systems is dependent on the properties of the interfaces. For example, adding soap to water changes the properties of an ...
A colloidal approach to study the role of cereal flour constituents in mixed cereal breadmaking and product quality. KU Leuven
Aeration during their production is important for the structure of many food products. In bread, proper gas cell stabilization results in a high loaf volume and a homogeneous fine grained crumb. In wheat breadmaking, the gluten proteins are initially responsible for stabilizing the gas cells incorporated during dough mixing. However, at a certain point during fermentation, a liquid film takes over gas cell stabilization. This film is made up ...
Self-assembly in colloidal and bacterial systems studied with high resolution microscopy techniques. KU Leuven
Self-assembly refers to the process by which colloidal particles or other discrete components, such as viruses or bacteria, spontaneously organize into ordered, macroscopic structures. Essential is that the colloidal building blocks undergo this restructuring process either through direct interactions, such as interparticle forces, or indirectly using a template or an external field. Recent advances have highlighted the similarity between the ...
Gas cell stabilization in bread containing non-wheat cereals KU Leuven
Bread is an important staple food around the globe. In Europe and other parts of the world, it is most often made from wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) flour and mainly with a straight-dough process. This process starts by mixing flour, water, yeast, salt, and potentially a number of non-essential ingredients into viscoelastic dough. The dough is then fermented, which results in gas cell expansion and thus in an increased dough volume. ...
From in vitro to in silico model: An engineering approach towards design of oil-in-water-based food products with tailored lipid digestion KU Leuven
The digestion of lipids in the human body has several health and nutritional implications. On the one side, a balanced lipid intake provides energy and essential fatty acids. On the other side, lipid overconsumption increases the risk of developing metabolic related diseases such as obesity, diabetes or cardiovascular diseases. In addition, lipid-based products could be employed as delivery systems for lipophilic functional compounds or as ...
Steering the colloidal state of oat proteins for food foam stabilization KU Leuven
The shift from animal towards plant protein-based foods will be a key pillar of a much needed transformation of the global food system. Food dispersions (e.g. foams) represent a type of food product in which animal proteins are typically used. In addition, there is a need to increase the amount of dietary fiber in foods. Among plant protein sources, there is an increasing interest in oats due to its high level of potentially ...
Unravelling the impact of sourdough fermentations on the viscoelastic gluten network and the aqueous phase in a wheat wholemeal dough system in relation to gas cell stability KU Leuven
Food fermentation technology, including the use of sourdough, is increasingly re-examined as a sustainable technology that can improve the nutritional quality of products, next to adding flavour and shelf life. While much progress has been made in recent years concerning the microbial ecology of sourdoughs, a knowledge gap exists concerning the technofunctionality of sourdoughs in wheat (wholemeal) dough systems. Therefore, in this project, I ...
Development and optimisation of adhesion mechanisms between rubber and thermoplast materials for 2K injection moulding KU Leuven
Successful two-component (2K) injection moulding of multi-material products requires an efficient production process and an optimal material combination. Specifically for thermoset rubbers with thermoplastics, this is challenging as during injection moulding these materials have opposite temperature requirements. Therefore, a novel process with a mould containing thermally separated heat cavities was developed by Bex et al. [1]. Available ...