Researchers at the University of of São Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) in Brazil, partnering with colleagues in France at Nantes Atlantic College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering (Oniris) and the National Institute for Research on Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) are designing hydrogels made up of modified starch to use as ink for food 3D printing. Their findings are published in the journal, Food Research International.
"In the past few years, we've developed different technologies to modify starch and obtain gels with ideal characteristics for use as 'ink' to produce food by 3D printing," said Pedro Esteves Duarte Augusto, principal investigator and a professor at ESALQ-USP.
The research team utilized cassava derived starch in conjunction with ozone produced by an electrical discharge to oxygen. This method produced a modified starch that was able to produce gels with different consistencies.
"Control of the conditions enabled us to obtain weaker gels for other applications and firmer gels that are ideal for 3D printing because they retain the shape of the printed structure without flowing or losing moisture," Augusto said.
He continued, "We obtained good results with both methods. They're simple, cheap and easy to implement on an industrial scale".
Image Credit: Bianca C. Maniglia / USP