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In food ink systems in which the particles are dispersed in a hydrocolloid matrix, the source of the particles and the particle content are the main factors affecting the printability and rheological properties of the system. In this study, different contents (10% and 30% w/w) of vegetable (broccoli, spinach, or carrot) powders were added to hydrocolloid matrices with different hydration properties, and their influence on the printability and rheological properties was investigated. At low powder contents (10%), slight differences in the printability and rheological values were observed between the different vegetable sources in all hydrocolloids. When the powder content was increased to 30%, the hydrocolloid with the lowest water hydration capacity, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, showed the greatest differences in rheology and printability when different vegetable sources were used. Xanthan gum, with its higher water hydration capacity, inhibited the swelling of the particles, thus minimizing the increase in the rheological values at high volume fractions of powder and reducing the differences in printability between different vegetable sources. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis of the vegetable inks showed that xanthan gum inhibited swelling of the particles regardless of the vegetable powder source. The mixtures using xanthan gum could be smoothly extruded from the nozzle due to their low extruded hardness (2.96 ± 0.23 to 3.46 ± 0.16 kg), and the resulting objects showed high resolution without collapse over time.Practical Application: The powder-based texturization technology introduced in this study provides a standardized method of preparing food ink that can be universally applied to all food materials that can be powdered. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a 3D printing technique in which a powder and a hydrocolloid matrix are independently stored and mixed immediately before printing. This technique can minimize the inherent rheological differences between formulations with different food sources and compositions.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanofibers containing halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) loaded with sodium D-pantothenate (SDP) were successfully fabricated via simple blend-electrospinning. SDP was efficiently loaded into the innate HNT lumen with an SDP/ HNT mass ratio of 1.5:1 via vacuum treatment. The SDP-loaded HNT-inclusion complex was evaluated with drug-loading efficiency testing, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. The morphologies of the nanofibers were observed by scanning electron microscopy, which revealed uniform and smooth surfaces of the nanofibers. The addition of HNTs to the composite nanofibers increased the viscosity of the polymer solution, and this suggested shorter fiber diameters. FTIR spectroscopy verified the good compatibility of the SDP and HNTs with PVA. Moreover, the swelling properties were found to quantitatively correlate with weight loss. In vitro drug-release testing revealed that the HNTs and crosslinking reaction most dramatically affected the sustained release of SDP from the PVA and SDP-loaded HNT complex. In the drug-release kinetics model, SDP release depended on the diffusion caused by the deformation of the polymer-based structures in the medium; it followed Fickian diffusion with acceptable coefficient of determination (r 2 ) values between 0.88 and 0.94. Most importantly, the HNTs as natural biocontainers effectively modulated the release profile by loading the active compound in harmony with the electrospun nanofibers.

Summary Green tea infusions were prepared with three different water types: distilled water, commercial mineral water and CaCl2 added distilled water (at 20 mg L−1). The impact of different water type on the colloidal particle parameters, namely size, polydispersity index (PDI) and zeta potential, was examined within 24 h. Our results indicate that distilled water green tea infusion (DWT) brewed at 80 °C for 5 min contained the smallest particles (242.17 ± 11.78 nm) as examined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). Moreover, DWT showed smaller size increase during the 24 h storage than that of mineral water tea and CaCl2 added water tea infusion. The morphology characteristics of green tea infusion particles were visualised by transmission electron microscope (TEM) which revealed that green tea infusion particles had heteromorphic shapes. Our results suggest that mineral composition of water impacts the colloidal size and stability of green tea infusion. Additionally, DLS and TEM could be useful tools to provide colloidal information which is important to understand quality characteristics of green tea infusion during processing and storage.