Outputs (36)

The European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) research roadmap 2040: Advanced strategies for exploiting the vast potential of polysaccharides as renewable bioresources (2023)
Journal Article

Polysaccharides are among the most abundant bioresources on earth and consequently need to play a pivotal role when addressing existential scientific challenges like climate change and the shift from fossil-based to sustainable biobased materials. Th... Read More about The European Polysaccharide Network of Excellence (EPNOE) research roadmap 2040: Advanced strategies for exploiting the vast potential of polysaccharides as renewable bioresources.

Origins of polysaccharide conformation and viscoelasticity in miscible heterogeneous solvent (2023)
Working Paper

Comparative hydrodynamic and nanoscale imaging study on the interactions of teicoplanin-A2 and bovine submaxillary mucin as a model ocular mucin (2023)
Journal Article

Glycopeptide antibiotics are regularly used in ophthalmology to treat infections of Gram-positive bacteria. Aggregative interactions of antibiotics with mucins however can lead to long exposure and increases the risk of resistant species. This study... Read More about Comparative hydrodynamic and nanoscale imaging study on the interactions of teicoplanin-A2 and bovine submaxillary mucin as a model ocular mucin.

DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 regulates cellulose synthesis and affects primary cell wall mechanics (2023)
Journal Article

The cell wall is one of the defining features of plants, controlling cell shape, regulating growth dynamics and hydraulic conductivity, as well as mediating plants interactions with both the external and internal environments. Here we report that a p... Read More about DEFECTIVE KERNEL1 regulates cellulose synthesis and affects primary cell wall mechanics.

Self-association of the glycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin A2 in aqueous solution studied by molecular hydrodynamics (2023)
Journal Article

The natural glycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin is used for the treatment of serious Gram-positive related bacterial infections and can be administered intravenously, intramuscularly, topically (ocular infections), or orally. It has also been conside... Read More about Self-association of the glycopeptide antibiotic teicoplanin A2 in aqueous solution studied by molecular hydrodynamics.

The impact of psyllium gelation behaviour on in vitro colonic fermentation properties (2023)
Journal Article

Psyllium is a viscous, gel forming fibre with properties that have led it to be used for alleviating gastrointestinal discomfort. We have used previously identified fractions of psyllium with differing flow properties. Fraction 1 (F1) forms a non-gel... Read More about The impact of psyllium gelation behaviour on in vitro colonic fermentation properties.

Chloroplast/thylakoid-rich material: A possible alternative to the chemically synthesised flow enhancer polyglycerol polyricinoleate in oil-based systems (2023)
Journal Article

Chloroplasts are abundant organelles in a diverse range of plant materials; they are predominantly composed of multicomponent thylakoid membranes which are lipid and protein rich. Intact or unravelled thylakoid membranes should, in principle, have in... Read More about Chloroplast/thylakoid-rich material: A possible alternative to the chemically synthesised flow enhancer polyglycerol polyricinoleate in oil-based systems.

Non-starch polysaccharides in beer and brewing: A review of their occurrence and significance (2022)
Journal Article

It has become apparent that beer (both alcoholic and nonalcoholic) contains appreciable amounts of non-starch polysaccharides, a broad subgroup of dietary fiber. It is worth noting that the occurrence of non-starch polysaccharides in alcoholic beer d... Read More about Non-starch polysaccharides in beer and brewing: A review of their occurrence and significance.

Protein-induced delubrication: How plant-based and dairy proteins affect mouthfeel (2022)
Journal Article

Understanding how certain proteins cause astringency is necessary in order to improve the mouthfeel and popularity of plant-based foods. To this end, we studied protein interactions during oral processes using a PDMS-PDMS interface lubricated by ex-v... Read More about Protein-induced delubrication: How plant-based and dairy proteins affect mouthfeel.

Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism (2022)
Journal Article

Root angle in crops represents a key trait for efficient capture of soil resources. Root angle is determined by competing gravitropic versus anti-gravitropic offset (AGO) mechanisms. Here we report a new root angle regulatory gene termed ENHANCED GRA... Read More about Root angle is controlled by EGT1in cereal crops employing anantigravitropic mechanism.

Flavour compounds affect protein structure: The effect of methyl anthranilate on bovine serum albumin conformation (2022)
Journal Article

This study aims to understand possible effects of flavour compounds on the structure and conformation of endogenous proteins. Using methyl anthranilate (a grape flavour compound added to drinks, confectionery, and vape-liquids) and bovine serum album... Read More about Flavour compounds affect protein structure: The effect of methyl anthranilate on bovine serum albumin conformation.

Instrumental characterization of xanthan gum and scleroglucan solutions: Comparison of rotational rheometry, capillary breakup extensional rheometry and soft-contact tribology (2022)
Journal Article

Xanthan gum and scleroglucan, two rod-like polysaccharide hydrocolloids, are compared using a wide range of instrumental techniques and methods: steady shear flow, small amplitude oscillatory shear, first normal stress difference, capillary break-up... Read More about Instrumental characterization of xanthan gum and scleroglucan solutions: Comparison of rotational rheometry, capillary breakup extensional rheometry and soft-contact tribology.

How hydrocolloids can control the viscoelastic properties of acid-swollen collagen pastes (2022)
Journal Article

The interactions between proteins and polysaccharides are of considerable importance in the food industry. In this study, the effect of adding non-charged methylcellulose (MC), hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC), medium (GM) and high (GH) molecular... Read More about How hydrocolloids can control the viscoelastic properties of acid-swollen collagen pastes.

Rheology, microstructure and diffusion in soft gelatin nanocomposites packed with anionic nanogels (2021)
Journal Article

The colloidal stability of therapeutic nanoparticles for improving human health is a significant challenge, owing to aggregation and sedimentation. To overcome such limitations, gelatin-based nanocomposites are designed with increasing concentration... Read More about Rheology, microstructure and diffusion in soft gelatin nanocomposites packed with anionic nanogels.

Development of a separated-dough method and flour/starch replacement in gluten free crackers by cellulose and fibrillated cellulose (2021)
Journal Article

Two strategies were combined and applied in this study to achieve a desired structure and texture of gluten free crackers and to reduce the calorie content. The first strategy is increasing structural heterogeneity of crackers and doughs and a separa... Read More about Development of a separated-dough method and flour/starch replacement in gluten free crackers by cellulose and fibrillated cellulose.

Depletion of HP1α alters the mechanical properties of MCF7 nuclei (2021)
Journal Article

Within the nucleus of the eukaryotic cell, DNA is partitioned into domains of highly condensed, transcriptionally silent heterochromatin and less condensed, transcriptionally active euchromatin. Heterochromatin protein 1α (HP1α) is an architectural p... Read More about Depletion of HP1α alters the mechanical properties of MCF7 nuclei.

Viscoelastic behaviour of rapid and slow self-healing hydrogels formed by densely branched arabinoxylans from Plantago ovata seed mucilage (2021)
Journal Article

We report rheological characterisation of hydrogels formed by highly substituted brush-like arabinoxylans from Plantago ovata seed mucilage. Two arabinoxlyan fractions with similar molecular weight and linkage compositions are chosen to form gels wit... Read More about Viscoelastic behaviour of rapid and slow self-healing hydrogels formed by densely branched arabinoxylans from Plantago ovata seed mucilage.

Viscoelasticity of non-colloidal hydrogel particle suspensions at the liquid-solid transition (2021)
Journal Article

Suspensions of soft particles transition from a viscous fluid to a soft material upon increases in phase volume. The criteria defining the transition to this jammed state are difficult to define due to the porous and deformable nature of soft particl... Read More about Viscoelasticity of non-colloidal hydrogel particle suspensions at the liquid-solid transition.

Understanding the lost functionality of ethanol in non-alcoholic beer using sensory evaluation, aroma release and molecular hydrodynamics (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020, The Author(s). Consumer sensory evaluation, aroma release analysis and biophysical protein analysis were used to investigate the effect of ethanol on the release and perception of flavour in beer (lager and stout) at different ethanol levels... Read More about Understanding the lost functionality of ethanol in non-alcoholic beer using sensory evaluation, aroma release and molecular hydrodynamics.

Dynamic Tribology Protocol (DTP): Response of salivary pellicle to dairy protein interactions validated against sensory perception (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Saliva plays a key role in oral lubrication that is hypothesised to influence the oral processing and sensory perception of foods, beverages and oral care products. Here, we consider whether or not ex vivo saliva-lubricity measure... Read More about Dynamic Tribology Protocol (DTP): Response of salivary pellicle to dairy protein interactions validated against sensory perception.

Probing the effect of aroma compounds on the hydrodynamic properties of mucin glycoproteins (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020, The Author(s). Aroma compounds are diverse low molecular weight organic molecules responsible for the flavour of food, medicines or cosmetics. Natural and artificial aroma compounds are manufactured and used by the industry to enhance the fla... Read More about Probing the effect of aroma compounds on the hydrodynamic properties of mucin glycoproteins.

Policy, toxicology and physicochemical considerations on the inhalation of high concentrations of food flavour (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020, The Author(s). Food flavour ingredients are required by law to obtain prior approval from regulatory bodies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in terms of toxicological data and i... Read More about Policy, toxicology and physicochemical considerations on the inhalation of high concentrations of food flavour.

Wood hemicelluloses exert distinct biomechanical contributions to cellulose fibrillar networks (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020, The Author(s). Hemicelluloses, a family of heterogeneous polysaccharides with complex molecular structures, constitute a fundamental component of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the contribution of each hemicellulose type to the mechanical... Read More about Wood hemicelluloses exert distinct biomechanical contributions to cellulose fibrillar networks.

Food biotechnology (2020)
Journal Article

We investigate recent advances in the Chemical Engineering aspects of food structuring agents and macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, and also the fate of food upon ingestion. Prebiotic effects on host-microbe interactions enable impr... Read More about Food biotechnology.

Structural Insights into the Mechanism of Heat‐Set Gel Formation of Polyisocyanopeptide Polymers (2020)
Journal Article

One of the key factors influencing the mechanical properties of natural and synthetic extracellular matrices (ECM) is how large‐scale 3D gel‐like structures emerge from the molecular self‐assembly of individual polymers. Here, structural characteriza... Read More about Structural Insights into the Mechanism of Heat‐Set Gel Formation of Polyisocyanopeptide Polymers.

The Effect of Dissolved Gases on the Short-Range Attractive Force between Hydrophobic Surfaces in the Absence of Nanobubble Bridging (2020)
Journal Article

The short-range attractive forces between hydrophobic surfaces are key factors in a wide range of areas such as protein folding, lipid self-assembly, and particle-bubble interaction such as in industrial flotation. Little is certain about the effect... Read More about The Effect of Dissolved Gases on the Short-Range Attractive Force between Hydrophobic Surfaces in the Absence of Nanobubble Bridging.

Investigating the influence of pectin content and structure on its functionality in bio-flocculant extracted from okra (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020 The Author(s) Okra extract is known to have potential application as a bio-flocculant for wastewater treatment. However, no research to date has given insight into the components responsible for the flocculating ability of okra extract or its... Read More about Investigating the influence of pectin content and structure on its functionality in bio-flocculant extracted from okra.

Temperature fractionation, physicochemical and rheological analysis of psyllium seed husk heteroxylan (2020)
Journal Article

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd Psyllium husk is a source of natural dietary fibre with marked water absorbability and gelling properties, which makes it an attractive functional ingredient for applications in the food industry, such as gluten free bread and bre... Read More about Temperature fractionation, physicochemical and rheological analysis of psyllium seed husk heteroxylan.

Mucin immobilization in calcium alginate: A possible mucus mimetic tool for evaluating mucoadhesion and retention of flavour (2019)
Journal Article

To reduce animal testing, there is a need to develop novel in-vitro models for evaluating the retention of bioactive compounds in food and pharmaceutical products. Here, a mucus-mimetic platform was developed through a one-step approach based on enca... Read More about Mucin immobilization in calcium alginate: A possible mucus mimetic tool for evaluating mucoadhesion and retention of flavour.

Enabling the Rational Design of Low-Fat Snack Foods: Insights from In Vitro Oral Processing (2019)
Journal Article

Texture perception can be conceptualized as an emergent cognitive response to several of the physical and chemical properties of a food. Contemporary oral processing research is focused on revealing the relationships between the sensory perceptions a... Read More about Enabling the Rational Design of Low-Fat Snack Foods: Insights from In Vitro Oral Processing.

Lubrication by biomacromolecules: mechanisms and biomimetic strategies (2019)
Journal Article

Biomacromolecules play a key role in protecting human biointerfaces from friction and wear, and thus enable painless motion. Biomacromolecules give rise to remarkable tribological properties that researchers have been eager to emulate. In this review... Read More about Lubrication by biomacromolecules: mechanisms and biomimetic strategies.

The role of saliva in oral processing: Reconsidering the breakdown path paradigm (2019)
Journal Article

We discuss food oral processing research over the last two decades and consider strategies for quantifying the food breakdown model, originally conceptualised by Hutchings and Lillford . The key innovation in their seminal 1988 paper was shifting t... Read More about The role of saliva in oral processing: Reconsidering the breakdown path paradigm.

Responsive polysaccharide-grafted surfaces for biotribological applications (2019)
Journal Article

The elucidation of biolubrication mechanisms and the design of artificial biotribological contacts requires the development of model surfaces that can help to tease out the cues that govern friction in biological systems. Polysaccharides provide an i... Read More about Responsive polysaccharide-grafted surfaces for biotribological applications.

Functional categorisation of dietary fibre in foods: Beyond 'soluble’ vs ‘insoluble’ (2018)
Journal Article

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Background: Diets rich in dietary fibre are associated with multiple health benefits, but there is often only a restricted understanding of the mechanisms underlying these associations. This limits the ability to select or design... Read More about Functional categorisation of dietary fibre in foods: Beyond 'soluble’ vs ‘insoluble’.

Probing adhesion between nanoscale cellulose fibres using AFM lateral force spectroscopy: the effect of hemicelluloses on hydrogen bonding (2018)
Journal Article

Inter-fibre adhesion is a key contributing factor to the mechanical response and functionality of cellulose-based biomaterials. ‘Dip-and-Drag’ lateral force atomic force microscopy technique is used here to evaluate the influence of arabinoxylan and... Read More about Probing adhesion between nanoscale cellulose fibres using AFM lateral force spectroscopy: the effect of hemicelluloses on hydrogen bonding.

Multi-scale assembly of hydrogels formed by highly branched arabinoxylans from Plantago ovata seed mucilage studied by USANS/SANS and rheology (2018)
Journal Article

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd The structures of two hydrogels formed by purified brush-like polysaccharides from Plantago ovata seed mucilage have been characterised from the nanometre to micrometre scale by using a combination of SANS and USANS techniques. Th... Read More about Multi-scale assembly of hydrogels formed by highly branched arabinoxylans from Plantago ovata seed mucilage studied by USANS/SANS and rheology.