Engineering of bioaerogels as key ingredients in the development of functional foods to deliver health through diet

This Ph.D. research project aims at exploiting the peculiar characteristics of innovative porous food-grade materials, called bioaerogels, in the development of foods with tailored health-related functionalities. In particular, bioaerogels will be used to develop: (i) delivery systems able to protect bioactives through the gastrointestinal tract; (ii) fat replacers rich in unsaturated fatty acids, able to mimic the technological functions of traditional saturated hard fats; (iii) lighting ingredients, able to incorporate air in food formulations, thus leading to caloric density reduction.