Grant: Research Tools and Instruments

Understanding the food and other related nanostructures' material properties is an integral part of developing novel sustainable products for food, human health, and industrial applications. Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the related food and other materials' thermal properties will allow researchers to predict materials behavior during unit operations such as processing and storage. Food materials are complex in nature and contain a blend of different polymers and compounds, which make changes in their thermal properties. At the Department of Food & Human Nutritional Science, University of Manitoba, there is only one 15-year-old Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) system that was purchased in 2007, and it is in the brink of failure at the moment with multiple software and connectivity issues. Should our current 15-years-old DSC (or any of its parts) that is heavily used by multiple research groups and no longer supported for service fails, the applicants' research programs and training of their HQPs will be interrupted severely. Therefore, the purchase of this Discovery 2500 Auto DSC, Drs. Bandara and Koksel (Co-applicants), and other users (Drs. Malalgoda, Scanlon, Beta, Aluko, and House) will have access to the required equipment to investigate the thermal properties including complex transitions. Dr. Bandara will use the new DSC to study the thermal properties of renewable polymers such as proteins, lignin, and carbohydrates used to develop biobased and biomedical materials, the impact of extraction and processing on thermal properties of food ingredients, the effect of nanomaterials on thermal properties of biopolymers, and the thermal stability of protein-based delivery systems. Dr. Koksel will study the effect of starch-protein blends and their impact on the thermal properties of extruded puffed snacks and meat analogs and the impact of processing on aerated foods' thermal properties. Also, other researchers will use the new DSC for their research programs. All the above NSERC and Canada Research Chair program-funded research programs require timely access to a new DSC with high sample operating capacity to generate high-quality scientific data and publications. The requested equipment will also be an integral part of the diverse and multidisciplinary research program carried out by co-applicants to train next generation HQP's required for food industries.