Presented by: Justin Thomas Mackay

ENGR-1050, Introduction to Nanotechnology - Professor: Cris Ellison - November 28th, 2015 - jmackay6.wordpress.com  

Tasty Tidbits on Tiny Tech…

•  Nanotech and Smart Packaging - Is it possible to increase the shelf-life of foods? - Can Nanotech tell us when foods have gone bad?

•  Nanotech and Health - Can Nanotech make food preparation safer? - Can we improve how our body absorbs nutrients? - Are we able to make healthier foods?

•  Nanotech and Consumer Concerns - Can we safely consume Nano-particles? - Is Nanotech a threat to landfills?

Take one Down and Pass it Around…

•  High Barrier Packaging Materials (PET Bottles) - Nano-clays increase the bottle’s strength, more shatterproof. - Acts as a barrier between oxygen outside and carbon dioxide inside.

•  Food Delivery and Preparation - Nano-sensors used on pallets and in trucks to detect harmful temperatures. - Nano-silver (antimicrobial properties); found on cutting boards, cleaning sprays, kitchenware and food storage containers.

•  Nutritional Supplements (Nanoceuticals) - Addition of zinc colloids and other nano-particles; improves uptake and targeted delivery of the supplement’s content.

Smart Sensors, Edible Packaging and Superfoods…

•  Insert Sensors - Warn if the package has been opened. - Warn if the content has reached unsafe temperatures. - Able to identify pathogens present in the packaging.

•  Edible Nano-laminates - Food-grade film between 1 and 100nm per layer. - Constructed from polysaccharides and proteins. - Serve as a barrier against oxygen and carbon dioxide.

•  Nutritional/Flavor Enhancement - Create more powerful versions of antioxidant foods. - Replicating flavors (like salty) without health risks.

You Got Your Nano-Particles in my Cereal…

•  Consumer and Environmental Testing so far - Environmental sensors do not molecularly alter the food. - Carbon Nanotubes have been injected into the bloodstream of rabbits for several hours with no adverse side effects. - Demand for edible Carbon Nanotubes remains low because they’re icky, and you have to eat so many to feel full.

•  Considerations Still Unanswered - Because of structural and chemical diversity of nano-particles, they can not be considered as a group of similar compounds. - Nanotech in the food industry is so new and so diverse, we don’t have enough information to determine long-term effects. - As of 2009, the FDA was still obtaining and reviewing data.

Buzby,  J.  C.  (2010).  Nanotechnology  for  Food  ApplicaAons:  More  QuesAons  Than  Answers.  Journal  Of  Consumer  Affairs,  44(3),  528-­‐545.  doi:10.1111/j.1745-­‐6606.2010.01182.x  hUps://libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=hUp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=53474777&site=eds-­‐live  

Stampfli,  N.,  Siegrist,  M.,  &  Kastenholz,  H.  (2010).  Acceptance  of  Nanotechnology  in  Food  and  Food  Packaging:  a  Path  Model  Analysis.  Journal  Of  Risk  Research,  13(3),  335-­‐347.  doi:10.1080/13669870903233303  hUps://libprox1.slcc.edu/login?url=hUp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=48982845&site=eds-­‐live  

Boyce,  B.  (2009).  Knowing  Nanotech  is  Knowing  the  Future  of  Food  and  NutriAon.  Journal  Of  The  American  DieteAc  AssociaAon,  109(8),  1332-­‐1335  4p.  doi:10.1016/j.jada.2009.06.380  hUp://ezproxy.westminstercollege.edu/login?url=hUp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=105404072&site=eds-­‐live  

Duncan,  T.  V.  (2011).  ApplicaAons  of  Nanotechnology  in  Food  Packaging  and  Food  Safety:  Barrier  Materials,  AnAmicrobials  and  Sensors.  Journal  of  Colloid  and  Interface  Science.  1-­‐24.  Published  by  elsevier.com  hUps://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_sdt=1,44&q=nanotechnology+food&hl=en&as_vis=1