Creamy taste with less fat
The dimensions of the oil droplets are important for a wide range of applications. For example, the size of the oil droplets determines how creamy a food product tastes. As with the current mixing methods the oil droplets produced are not only the large, creamy tasting droplets, but also less desirable small droplets, manufacturers often add slightly more oil than necessary to ensure the desired taste. Using the chip from Wageningen University, all oil droplets are exactly the same size. This way, the same creamy taste can be achieved with less fat.
No overdosing in the case of medicines
The chip can also yield advantages for the production of medicines. For example, you can selectively reach certain organs in the body by using emulsions of oil droplets with specific dimensions. In addition, droplets with the same dimensions always contain exactly the same quantity of active substance. This means you can use the chip to prevent overdosing.
From sixty football fields to office size
‘When Sami Sahin started his PhD research, we had a chip that did the same but would have required a surface area of sixty football fields to produce sufficient amounts. Thanks to Sami’s smart new design, we have reduced that to ten square metres. And because you the chips can be stacked, the complete production facility can now easily fit inside my office,’ says professor Schroën.