Oil-in-water solution to improve consumer products
29 May 2012
A method that models cell-to-cell adhesion could have industrial applications
The system is an oil-in-water solution with surface properties the same as those found on biological cells.
It was created by Jasna Bruji?, an assistant professor in New York University. His team designed an original biomimetic solution, or emulsion, that reproduces the main features of cell-to-cell adhesion in tissues.
Emulsions form the basis for a range of consumer products, including butter, ice cream, and milk.
By varying the amount of force by which the droplets of oil were compressed by centrifugation and the amount of salt added to this solution, the NYU team was able to isolate the optimal conditions for cell-to-cell adhesion.
Screening electrostatic charges by the addition of salt, and compressing the droplets by force, enhanced protein-protein interactions on the droplet surfaces.
This led to adhesion between contacting droplets covering all the interfaces, just as in the case of biological tissues.
Their results, which matched the researchers’ theoretical modeling of the process, offer a method for manipulating force and pressure in order to bind emulsions.
This serves as a starting point for enriching a range of consumer products, by reconfiguring their molecular make-up to enhance consistency and function, and for improving pharmaceuticals.
