Emulsion Gel: Nutrient Encapsulation, Release, and Stability

Emulsion gels, a class of soft solid-like materials, are complex colloidal materials in which both emulsion droplets and gels exist. Emulsion gels offer the benefits of both emulsions and hydrogels. They can dissolve both hydrophobic components (e.g., fat-soluble vitamins, curcumin, n-3 fatty acid), and hydrophilic components (e.g., water-soluble vitamins, polyphenols, and peptides) while maintaining excellent stability. Consequently, emulsion gels can serve as dual-functional controlled release systems. The formation of emulsion gels involves the use of various gelation materials and their unique physicochemical properties. For example, protein-based emulsion gels are primarily broken down during gastric digestion due to pepsin hydrolysis, whereas polysaccharide-based emulsion gels are more resistant to gastric fluid, potentially safeguarding the enclosed nutrients from the harsh gastric environment. Therefore, a more in-depth investigation of emulsion gels as food nutrient carriers and their contributions to human health during food processing and digestion is needed.

The encapsulation, release, and stability properties depend on the microstructure of emulsion gels and the physicochemical properties of encapsulated nutrients. This research topic aims to collect the contribution for encapsulation, digestion, availability, and activity of hydrophobic and hydrophilic nutrients in different kinds of emulsion gels, and these studies will help to provide more extensive information on the delivery mechanisms of nutrients encapsulated emulsion gels, and thus explore the applications in promoting human health.

We welcome manuscripts of different types (original research, short communications, graphic reviews, and full-length reviews) from, but not limited to, the following themes:

• Multi-scale microstructures of emulsion gels, i.e., droplet-filled emulsion gels, droplet-aggregated emulsion gels, or a combination of these two structures, which are used as carriers for the targeted delivery of hydrophobic or hydrophilic nutrient substances to specific sites in the gastrointestinal tract, or to modulate the release behavior of the bioactive substances.

• Stability of nutrient substances in emulsion gels under different processing regimes.

• Effects of the interaction between nutrient substances and emulsion gels on the structural stability of the gels.

• Relevant applications of nutrient substance encapsulated emulsion gels in food and pharmaceutical fields.

• Investigating bioaccessibility and bioavailability of the encapsulated nutrients.