Recent Research and Progress in Food, Feed and Nutrition with Advanced Synchrotron-based SR-IMS and DRIFT Molecular Spectroscopy

Abstract

Ultraspatially resolved synchrotron radiation based infrared microspectroscopy is able to detect the structure features of a food or feed tissue at cellular and molecular levels. However, to date, this advanced synchrotron-based technique is almost unknown to food and feed scientists. The objective of this article was to introduce this novel analytical technology, ultra-spatially resolved synchrotron radiation based infrared microspectroscopy (SR-IMS) to food, feed, conventional nutrition, and molecular nutrition scientists. The emphasis of this review focused on the following areas: (1) Principles of molecular spectroscopy for food and feed structure research, such as protein molecular structure, carbohydrate conformation, heating induced protein structure changes, and effect of gene-transformation on food and feed structure; (2) Molecular spectral analysis methodology; (3) Biological applications of synchrotron SR-IMS and DRIFT spectroscopy; and (4) Recent progress in food, feed and nutrition research program. The information described in this article gives better insight in food structure research progress and update.

Keywords:

• Molecular Structure
• molecular spectroscopy
• DRIFT
• Synchrotron radiation
• Food and feed
• Molecular nutrition

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author is grateful to Drs. Lisa Miller, Randy Smith, Megan Bourassa, Jennifer Bohon, Nebojsa Marinkovic at NSLS-BNL (New York) for helpful synchrotron data collection and Ferenc Borondics, Tor Pederson, Tim May, Luca Quaroni and Chithra Karunakaran for helpful data collection at 01B1–1 station and soft-X-ray station, Canadian Light Sources.

Funding

The research programs have been supported from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC, Individual Discovery Grant, and CRD grant), the Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Chair Program, the Saskatchewan Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), the Agricultural Bioproducts Innovation Program of Agriculture and Agric-Food Canada, Beef Cattle Research Council, SaskCanola Council and the Saskatchewan ADF. Canadian Light Source (Mid-IR and Soft X-ray stations) and National Synchrotron Light Source (U2B, U10B) in Brookhaven National Laboratory (NSLS-BNL, the U.S. Department of Energy, New York, USA) provide strong support in plant-based feed and food structure and nutrition research.