Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design

Three-dimensional (3D) printing attracts significant interest in the food industry for its ability to create complex structures and customize nutritional content. Printing materials, or inks, are specially formulated for food or nutraceuticals. These inks must exhibit proper rheological properties t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: María Itatí De Salvo, Camila Palla, Ivana M. Cotabarren
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Foods
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/200
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832588492769591296
author María Itatí De Salvo
Camila Palla
Ivana M. Cotabarren
author_facet María Itatí De Salvo
Camila Palla
Ivana M. Cotabarren
author_sort María Itatí De Salvo
collection DOAJ
description Three-dimensional (3D) printing attracts significant interest in the food industry for its ability to create complex structures and customize nutritional content. Printing materials, or inks, are specially formulated for food or nutraceuticals. These inks must exhibit proper rheological properties to flow smoothly during printing and form stable final structures. This study evaluates the relationship between rheological properties and printability in phytosterol-enriched monoglyceride (MG) oleogel-based inks, intended for nutraceutical applications. Key rheological factors, including gelation temperature (Tg), elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) modulus, and viscosity (µ) behavior with shear rate (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>γ</mi></mrow><mo>˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), were analyzed for their impact on flow behavior and post-extrusion stability. Furthermore, this study allowed the development of an operation map to predict successful printing based on material µ and Tg. Oleogels (OGs) were prepared with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and 10 wt% MG, enriched with phytosterols (PSs) at concentrations between 0 and 40 wt%. While higher PS content generally led to an increase in both Tg and µ, the 10 wt% PS mixture exhibited a different behavior, showing lower Tg and µ compared to the 0 wt% and 5 wt% PS mixtures. The optimal PS concentration was identified as 20 wt%, which exhibited optimal properties for 3D printing, with a Tg of 78.37 °C and µ values ranging from 0.013 to 0.032 Pa.s that yielded excellent flowability and adequate G′ (3.07 × 10<sup>6</sup> Pa) at room temperature for self-supporting capability. These characteristics, visualized on the operational map, suggest that 20% PS OGs meet ideal criteria for successful extrusion and layered deposition in 3D printing.
format Article
id doaj-art-889154294c1c4b1fa3157c79b4ff6c11
institution Kabale University
issn 2304-8158
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Foods
spelling doaj-art-889154294c1c4b1fa3157c79b4ff6c112025-01-24T13:32:51ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-01-0114220010.3390/foods14020200Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical DesignMaría Itatí De Salvo0Camila Palla1Ivana M. Cotabarren2Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), Av. Alem 1253, Bahía Blanca 8000, ArgentinaDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), Av. Alem 1253, Bahía Blanca 8000, ArgentinaDepartamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS), Av. Alem 1253, Bahía Blanca 8000, ArgentinaThree-dimensional (3D) printing attracts significant interest in the food industry for its ability to create complex structures and customize nutritional content. Printing materials, or inks, are specially formulated for food or nutraceuticals. These inks must exhibit proper rheological properties to flow smoothly during printing and form stable final structures. This study evaluates the relationship between rheological properties and printability in phytosterol-enriched monoglyceride (MG) oleogel-based inks, intended for nutraceutical applications. Key rheological factors, including gelation temperature (Tg), elastic (G′) and viscous (G″) modulus, and viscosity (µ) behavior with shear rate (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mover accent="true"><mrow><mi>γ</mi></mrow><mo>˙</mo></mover></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), were analyzed for their impact on flow behavior and post-extrusion stability. Furthermore, this study allowed the development of an operation map to predict successful printing based on material µ and Tg. Oleogels (OGs) were prepared with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) and 10 wt% MG, enriched with phytosterols (PSs) at concentrations between 0 and 40 wt%. While higher PS content generally led to an increase in both Tg and µ, the 10 wt% PS mixture exhibited a different behavior, showing lower Tg and µ compared to the 0 wt% and 5 wt% PS mixtures. The optimal PS concentration was identified as 20 wt%, which exhibited optimal properties for 3D printing, with a Tg of 78.37 °C and µ values ranging from 0.013 to 0.032 Pa.s that yielded excellent flowability and adequate G′ (3.07 × 10<sup>6</sup> Pa) at room temperature for self-supporting capability. These characteristics, visualized on the operational map, suggest that 20% PS OGs meet ideal criteria for successful extrusion and layered deposition in 3D printing.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/2003D printingoleogelphytosterolrheological propertiesprintabilityoperational map
spellingShingle María Itatí De Salvo
Camila Palla
Ivana M. Cotabarren
Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
Foods
3D printing
oleogel
phytosterol
rheological properties
printability
operational map
title Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
title_full Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
title_fullStr Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
title_full_unstemmed Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
title_short Development of an Operational Map for the 3D Printing of Phytosterol-Enriched Oleogels: Rheological Insights and Applications in Nutraceutical Design
title_sort development of an operational map for the 3d printing of phytosterol enriched oleogels rheological insights and applications in nutraceutical design
topic 3D printing
oleogel
phytosterol
rheological properties
printability
operational map
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/200
work_keys_str_mv AT mariaitatidesalvo developmentofanoperationalmapforthe3dprintingofphytosterolenrichedoleogelsrheologicalinsightsandapplicationsinnutraceuticaldesign
AT camilapalla developmentofanoperationalmapforthe3dprintingofphytosterolenrichedoleogelsrheologicalinsightsandapplicationsinnutraceuticaldesign
AT ivanamcotabarren developmentofanoperationalmapforthe3dprintingofphytosterolenrichedoleogelsrheologicalinsightsandapplicationsinnutraceuticaldesign