Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to study interactions in complex food systems

Food products are structured composites of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates. Understanding the complex interactions between these components and their behavior during processing, storage and consumption, is a prerequisite to design more nutritious, sustainable and tasty foods. To achieve this, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is an indispensable tool allowing the study of phase or state transitions involved in food ingredients and end products, including glass transition, melting and crystallization properties, protein denaturation and starch gelatinization. This project intends the procurement of a state of the art DSC with autosampler to replace the current outdated equipment. As DSC is an essential and basic tool within food structure research, the new equipment, showing better resolution and sensitivity, will allow continuation and expansion of the research portfolio in a global context of protein shift and reformulation towards innovative plant-based foods.