Major challenges for optimizing the benefits of fish oil on human health are improved bioavailability while overcoming the strong odor and avoiding significant oxidation of the omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The scalable continuous flow thin film vortex fluidic device (VFD) improves the Tween 20 encapsulation of fish oil relative to conventional homogenization processing, with the fish oil particles significantly smaller and the content of the valuable omega-3 fatty acids higher. In addition, after 14 days storage the remaining omega-3 fatty acids content was higher, from ca 31.0% for raw fish oil to ca 62.0% of freeze-dried encapsulated fish oil. The VFD mediated encapsulated fish oil was used to enrich the omega-3 fatty acid content of apple juice, as a model water-based food product, without changing its sensory values. The versatility of the VFD was further demonstrated in forming homogenous suspensions of fish oil containing water-insoluble bioactive molecules, curcumin and quercetin. We have also captured, for the first time, real-time structural changes in nanoencapsulation by installing a VFD with in in situ small angle neutron scattering. Real-time measurements afford valuable insights about self-assembly in solution.

A process for fabricating biodegradable polymer films from renewable feedstocks, namely, agar, alginate, and glycerol, with enhanced mechanical properties has been developed. A critical step in the process involves use of high shear stress and micromixing in a liquid thin film in an energy-efficient upsized vortex fluidic device (VFD) operating under confined-mode conditions. The upsized VFD having a 50 mm-OD diameter tube titled at 45° requires a fraction of the processing time and energy consumption relative to the standard VFD having a 20 mm-OD diameter tube titled at the same critical angle. It also overcomes difficulties of jet feed blockage and excessive gelling close to the base of the rapidly rotating tube for the high-viscosity liquid mixture when it is processed in the standard VFD operating under continuous flow for throughput competitive comparison. The enhanced mechanical properties of the polymer films (e.g., 0.14 strain) relates to the formation of a uniform solid inner microstructure and a smoother surface devoid of porosity. This is in contrast to using conventional autoclave processing, which affords films with weaker mechanical properties (e.g., 0.04 strain) having an inner microstructure with cracks and a rougher surface. In addition, the biodegradability of the polymer film produced using the upsized VFD (6 days) was not compromised relative to that produced using conventional autoclave processing. The overall facile scalable processing in generating a polymer with stronger mechanical properties is devoid of auxiliary substances and is high in green chemistry metrics.

The eight biogenic amines (BA), which are histamine (HIS), tryptamine, putrescine, 2‐phenylethylamine, cadaverine, tyramine, spermidine, and spermine, were determined in Chub Mackerel under different storage conditions after being freshly caught. The storage time and temperature were varied and the guts either present or removed. This study describes a reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a fluorescence detector following precolumn derivation with dansyl chloride method for the determination of BA in in Chub Mackerel samples. HIS represented the highest content of BA regardless of the storage temperature and time. During a 24‐hr period, the content of HIS reached its highest level of 6,466.63 mg/kg at the storage temperature of 30 °C, whereas it only reached 28.73 mg/kg in 24 hr when the storage temperature was 0 °C, which is way below the standard acceptable threshold level (400 mg/kg). The storage times for the content of HIS to exceed the standard threshold level for HIS at different storage temperatures of 0, 4, 10, 15, 20, and 25 °C were 12, 5, 4 days, 48, 36, 15, and 14 hr, respectively. However, these times were significantly shortened when the viscera was removed from freshly‐caught fish before storage. This study not only provides data for monitoring the content of BA, especially HIS, to ensure the safe storage and consumption of freshly‐caught Chub Mackerel, but also presents a cost‐effective method to extend the storage time of freshly‐caught Chub Mackerel. Practical Application This study not only provides data for monitoring the content of BA, especially HIS, to ensure the safe storage and consumption of freshly‐caught Chub Mackerel, but also presents a cost‐effective method, which is gut‐removal during storage, to extend the storage time of freshly‐caught Chub Mackerel.

A two‐step process of enzymatic hydrolyzation followed by Maillard reaction was used to produce oyster meat hydrolysate Maillard reaction products (MRPs). The flavor of oyster meat hydrolysate MRPs was significantly improved through an optimized orthogonal experimental design. Comparisons between the antioxidative activities of oyster meat hydrolysates and their MRPs were made using lipid peroxidation inhabitation, hydroxyl radical scavenging radical activity, and radical scavenging activity of 2,2 diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl (DPPH). These methods indicated that an improvement of Maillard reaction on the oyster meat hydrolysates antioxidative activity. Gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry illustrated that the increase was due to the newly formed antioxidative compounds after Maillard reaction, mainly of acids from 22.45% to 37.77% and phenols from 0% to 9.88%.

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