•  A natural technological solution to manage Bortrytis cinerea- a phytopathogenic fungus that affects grapes and causes significant economic losses- was developed by researchers at Universidad de Santiago. The study conducted by a team that involved researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology and the Faculty of Engineering will provide a healthier and more eco-friendly solution to this problem. Dr Milena Cotoras explains: “It is a natural product that adds value to residues, something that is very important for the industry,” adding that Chile produces about 100 thousand tones of these residues.

A natural and biodegradable fungicide was the result obtained in the project led by Dr Milena Cotoras. The project was funded by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicyt, in Spanish) through the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development (Fondef, in Spanish) and its IDeA Program.

With this support, the project “Development of a fungicide derived from wine industry residues against pthytopathogenic fungus Botrytis cinerea (code CA12i10054) was conducted in order to find an innovative solution to a problem that commonly affects wine industry: the presence of the Botrytis cinerea fungus (grey mould).

This fungus affects more than 250 vegetal species; however, it is usually related to wine making industry for its negative impact on local vineyards that leads to significant economic losses.

An interesting aspect of this study is the fact that the team used grape pomace extracts to produce this solution which, until recently, was considered as waste. These residues were obtained thanks to the collaboration of Viña Miguel Torres winery during the study.

Dr Cotoras explains: “It is a natural product that adds value to residues, something that is very important for the industry,” adding that Chile produces about 100 thousand tones of these residues.

The results of this study also included the development of six undergraduate thesis, two publications, seven presentations in national and international conferences and one patent application.

The project closure ceremony was held on May 05^th in the Auditorium of the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology and was headed by the Dean of the Faculty, Dr Gustavo Zúñiga. Francisco Vargas, executive of Fondef; Edgardo Santibáñez, manager of the Department of Technology Management of Universidad de Santiago, and Dr Isidro González Collado, professor at Universidad de Cádiz (Spain), attended the ceremony. Some of the researchers, Dr Leonora Mendoza and Dr Rubén Bustos, were also present at the activity.

Eco-friendly solutions

During the activity, Dr Isidro González Collado gave the presentation ‘Síntesis, inspirada en la genómica, de moléculas hibridas como antifúngicos contra el hongo fitopatógeno Botrytis cinerea’ to inform about part of the work that he has been doing for 35 years with his research team. 

“The big current problem with most of fungicides is that they remain on the soil for a long time, causing environmental problems and toxicity to animals, birds and even to human beings, because they enter the food chain,” Dr González, an expert in organic chemistry, says.

According to the Spanish expert, the challenge taken on by Dr Milena Cotoras and Dr Leonora Mendoza is on the right track, because it is part of the current challenges in the field, where all the efforts are being made to find effective solutions, which are less damaging to people and the environment.

Dr González says that in the case of Chile, the fungus that causes “grey rot” (Botrytis cinerea) has a strong relation with oenology. “During the past years, the use of natural fungicides has been improved in Chile and I am aware that recent work has been oriented to a natural control of Botrytis to avoid toxic residues in wine,” he says.

Bringing industry and universities closer together

Francisco Vargas, executive of Fondef, who also participated in the activity, says: “We have tried to bring industry and universities closer together, as it is the only way we have to reach products, development and innovation.”

Besides, Mr Vargas announced that in August, the fourth call for the Fondef Technological Research contest will be opened. “In this way, the efforts made in research and in activities to get economic and social impacts that give sense to research, will be extended. In other words, it is necessary to generate industrial and government actions to give our society and our markets universal access to research results. And this will only be possible if there is a permanent cooperation and mutual benefit between universities and companies.”

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  In the context of the second IDeA en Dos Etapas Contest of the Fondef Program of Conicyt, four projects of Universidad de Santiago with potential economical and social impact were awarded about US$800,000. 664 projects applied for the funding nationwide, but only 50 were selected.
• For Dr Luis Magne, Head of the Technology Transfer Department of Universidad de Santiago, “The projects that were awarded funds represent the efforts made by our university to develop applied research projects that respond to the main problems of the country.”
• Particularly, the funds will support the following projects: “Proyecto sensores Hall ultrasensibles para detecciones varias de la industria minera” (by Dr Dora Altbir); “Bases científicas-tecnológicas para generar una propuesta de regulación de envases plásticos reciclados post-consumo para su uso en contacto directo con alimentos” (by Dr María José Galotto); “Plataforma de apoyo a la gestión de emergencia y aplicaciones” (by Dr Mauricio Marín) y la “Investigación para la optimización de la producción de pellets hidrofóbicos de alta densidad energética a través de la carbonización hidrotérmica de diferentes mezclas de biomasa de relevancia nacional” (by Dr Luis Díaz).

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 551,662,728 Chilean pesos (about US$800,000) for the execution of four projects in the context of the second IDeA en Dos Etapas Contest of the Fondef (Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development) Program of the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research (Conicyt, in Spanish). These funds will contribute to scientific and technological research with potential economic and social impact.  

Khaled Awad, Director of the Fondef Program, highlights that in this second version, the IDeA en Dos Etapas Contest consolidates itself as a strong tool to support projects in different regions of the country.

“Fondef works to promote technological development based on scientific knowledge in all areas. This contest shows us this diversity and contributes to science and technology research work conducted all over the country,” he says.

For his part, Dr Luis Magne, Head of the Technology Transfer Department of Universidad de Santiago, says: “These results show, in the first place, the high competitiveness of local science.” “The projects that were awarded funds represent the efforts made by our university to develop applied research projects that respond to the main problems of the country,” he adds.

The funds awarded to the university will support four projects.

One of them is led by Dr Dora Altbir, who will develop ultra-sensitive HALL sensors for different detection works in mining industry.

Another project is led by Dr Mauricio Marín, who will develop a support platform for emergency managing and apps.

For her part, Dr María José Galotto leads a research group who will work on the scientific-technological bases to generate a proposal for regulating the use of post-consumer recycled plastic containers for direct food contact applications. 

Dr Luis Díaz will lead a study for optimizing the high-energy-density hydrophobic pellet production through hydrothermal carbonization of different biomass blends of national importance.

In this contest’s second call, 644 projects applied for the funds, almost 200 more than in the first version, but only 50 were selected nationwide. The projects are distributed in the following areas: Food (8), Fishing and Aquaculture (8), Energy (7), Manufacturing (6), Health (6), Social Sciences and Education (5), Mining Industry (3), Infrastructure (3), ICT (2) and Environment (1).

The selected projects will go into the Applied Science Phase, where I+D (Innovation and Development) projects are funded to validate proofs of concept, models or prototypes at small scale or under lab conditions.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics, have developed an innovative solution that allows to store energy as hydrogen. One of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy. This project is a contribution of Universidad de Santiago de Chile to the energy industry.

An innovative technology to store energy as hydrogen is being developed by Dr Daniel Serafini and Dr Álvaro San Martín, both professors at the Department of Physics of Universidad de Santiago de Chile.

According to Dr Serafini, one of the advantages of this technology is that it is not intermittent as current non-conventional energy sources (NCES), like solar and wind energy.

Hydrogen is generated during off-peak periods via water electrolysis. Then, depending on the needs, electric power is generated using the hydrogen stored in an electrochemical device called fuel cell. This system is very efficient and is environmentally friendly, because hydrogen combustion only generates water vapour, free of greenhouse gases and particulate matter.

Storing energy as hydrogen is a better solution in comparison to lithium batteries. “We compete with lithium batteries and they are much more expensive and heavier and they have technological problems regarding their size, i.e., at equal size, they have a more reduced capacity,” Dr Serafini says.

According to the expert, with current battery technology, lithium reserves in the world “are enough to cover only 40% of the cars in the Unites States.”

It is also worth to mention that this solution is particularly attractive to settlements in remote areas that do not receive power supply from the interconnected grid system.

The researchers implemented a demonstration module at the Minera San Pedro mining camp, in Til Til (at the north of the Metropolitan Region), where the pilot project has been working since mid-2015.

The CLP150 million project has been funded by the Innova Chile program of the Chilean Economic Development Agency (CLP132 million) and Minera San Pedro.

Greater involvement of the private sector

For his part, Dr San Martín stresses that the project has been well received by the Government and that now, a greater involvement of the private sector is required. “In developed countries, different public and private programs to develop hydrogen technologies have been funded with millions of dollars for a long time,” he says.

State-run bodies in Chile have already recognized the importance of hydrogen in the future for a clean non-polluting public transport. Both researchers agree that this is an essential starting point. 

Target market

One of the benefits of implementing this type of technology in Chile is that we have enormous ENCS resources of all kinds (solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and tidal power), but they are intermittent, so the use of hydrogen would be highly convenient. 

The researchers say that this project “is not targeted at large companies for now, but remote places, like small settlements or fishing villages away from interconnected grid systems, little mine sites and road construction zones, etc.”

They expect to fully implement the project by mid-2016. Although they acknowledge that it is necessary to make this technology more price competitive, they say that costs have significantly fallen in recent times due to the huge development of fuel cell vehicles.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

•  The project gathers 15 institutions of Chile, USA and Europe, like Cedenna, and seeks to develop, analyze and test new therapies for treating colorectal cancer by means of magnetic nanostructures. The initiative also has the purpose of promoting human capital exchange, technology transfer and the creation of new knowledge.
   

15 organizations, including the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (Cedenna) of Universidad de Santiago de Chile, joined to form the Magnamed consortium and respond to the call by the EU’s research grant program that will fund the project for at least four years. Other members of the consortium are the Complutense University of Madrid, the University of the Basque Country, the University of California, San Diego and IMG Pharma. The goal of this group is to work in collaboration and find new methods to treat colorectal cancer using state-of-the-art magnetic nanostructures to directly target and destroy tumor cells and avoid the side effects of treatments like radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

“Nanotechnology has a strong impact on different aspects of daily life. Its applications are expanding and being increasingly enhanced, reaching fields like medicine, where the search for new cancer treatments has gained interest and raised expectations, as conventional therapies are still expensive and complex and their side effects leave deep marks in the body,” Dr Dora Altbir, director of Cedenna, says.

The challenge is to create nanometric-sized disc-shaped structures that can be introduced in the body to destroy malignant cells thanks to their magnetic properties, without affecting healthy cells. This type of therapy has been studied for a while, but elaborating magnetic nanoparticles that effectively interact with biosensors and which are not derived from biotoxic materials has made the European Union to promote international cooperation among universities, research center and laboratories around the world to find new solutions and reduce cancer mortality.

“For Cedenna, the fact of participating in this project represents an opportunity to contribute with a potential solution to one of the most catastrophic and fatal diseases, to learn, and to work in collaboration with different institutions. This will give us the possibility of transferring that new knowledge and share with other scientists,” Dr Altbir says. The center was already awarded funds to collaborate.

Selective treatment

An effective treatment at an early stage of the disease is key to reducing mortality in some types of cancer like colon or rectal cancer. The challenge in clinical trials lies in that cancer cells are difficult to detect because of low concentrations of tumor biomarkers, which become perceptible at advanced stages. But the most common treatments are aggressive and non-selective.

Magnetic nanoparticles bind to malignant cells, contributing to early cancer detection. However, as their application is limited, Magnamed will explore the potential of emerging technologies based on magnetic nanostructures, which design can result in a better response.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The Latin American Network of Educational Portals included the work done by Dr. Juan Silva, director of the Center for Research and Innovation in Education and ICT (CIIET, in Spanish), in a publication that gathers together renowned Latin American experts in this field.

Professor Juan Silva Quiroz’ work was selected by the Latin American Network of Educational Portals (Relpe, in Spanish) to be included in a recently published compendium that gathers several papers and reflections on the use of technologies in the educational process. The name of the book is “Mirada Relpe: Reflexiones iberoamericanas sobre TIC y Educación” (Relpe’s view: Latin American reflections on ICT and Education), and it started to be developed in 2011.

Dr. Silva reflects on the relation between Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and education policies, particularly in the incorporation of these ICT in the Early Teaching Training (FID, in Spanish) process, as he considers them a determining factor to improve the quality of education, by training professionals in this field and enabling them to understand these tools and implement them in the classroom.

Relpe’s initiative has the purpose of establishing a regional view on how technologies are understood in education.

In the same way, professor Silva highlights the international significance of this initiative, as it provides different points of view on this matter. “Two of us wrote about ICT in teacher training; other expert wrote about videogames and another one wrote on Personal Learning Environments (PLE), etc. It is then a wide variety of work subjects or problems about technology and education presented, referenced or argued by leaders in this field,” he said.

He also added that the book includes some subjects that should be addressed since university education, particularly, in teacher training.

Potential of ICT tools

Regarding the advantages of using collaborative tools like ICT, professor Silva said that most of the teachers, especially at university level, do not see the potential of ICT tools, in terms of having opportunities to share knowledge at a national and international level. Assignments and presentations, he explained, can be modified and improved and will always be available in Prezi, blogs and Wikis, for example, under the logic of Web 2.0.

He also said that these participative and collaborative models are very useful, especially in teaching, which is normally perceived as an individualistic work. “In the traditional model, the teacher presents knowledge and students receive it. On the other hand, in a collaborative model, the teacher acts as a facilitator, as a mediator, and students have an active role in their knowledge- building process,” he added

Nowadays, Dr. Silva is part of a commission set up by the Ministry of Education to address the inclusion of ICT in the training of future teachers, and soon he will publish a book about different experiences of using ICT in early teacher training in Latin American, thanks to a teaching innovation project of the Academic Vice Presidency and sponsored by the Ministry of Education’s Center of Education and Technology (CET, in Spanish).

Translated by Marcela Contreras
 

• The increase in cardiovascular diseases and the lack of reliable information, on the mechanical capacity of the arteries, became the engine of a promising research led by Claudio Garcia, professor  in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
• "Normally, engineers work with steel, concrete, industrial materials, and leave aside those materials with unknown behaviors," the expert says. He claims that his study of the aorta artery can become a tool for "predicting dangerous states in patients. We want to help physicians in taking decisions when performing an operation," he says.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the leading cause of death in the world is related to cardiovascular diseases. These pathologies do not distinguish gender and they affect mostly people in poor or developing countries.

In this context, he estimates that about 23.6 million people will die in 2030, due to cardiovascular complications; that is why the study led by Dr. Claudio Garcia –professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Santiago- is very relevant. He seeks to quantify the effects of the diseases and the age in the arteries, particularly the aorta, one of the main arteries of the human body.

This year, he presented part of his findings in an ISI publication, entitled "Mechanical Behaviour and rupture of normal and pathological human ascending aortic wall," which appeared in June in the Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing journal.

He explains that arterial mechanics defines the structural and functional capacity of the arteries, and it can be studied to obtain new information about their behavior and how the mechanical properties affect the diseases or the patients’ age.

"Our idea was to identify and assess the properties of the materials that make up this blood vessel and try to differentiate how it is affected by age or various diseases. We wanted to know how these factors alter the properties of the material that constitute the aorta,” Dr. Garcia says. He began this research in his doctoral thesis, a study about the properties of biomaterial at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, an organization that has provided resources for his research, which also has the support of a FONDECYT grant.

According to this professional, his interest in finding out about this health subject arose during his stay in the European country, where he felt motivated "by the permanent interaction with physicians who wanted to understand how the diseases affect this kind of biological materials. In their view, having an index to predict rupture states is important because, most of the time, the criteria used by doctors are only the arteries size or diameter. "

"Normally, engineers work with steel, concrete, industrial materials, and leave aside those materials with unknown behaviors." Research to establish and study how they behave is just starting," the expert says. Then, he refers to one of the main conclusions of his study, which released the mechanical properties of materials that were unknown. He points out that the main difference among patients is the age. As people become older, the arteries become less elastic and the mechanical resistance drops significantly, so they are more prone to rupture.

The importance of this information is to "predict dangerous states in patients. We want to help physicians in taking decisions when performing an operation," he says.

• Academics at the Department of Physics, led by Dr. Raúl Cordero, were part of the scientific expedition made in November by the Chilean Antarctic Institute to Unión Glacier and they contributed with valuable measurements of the optical properties of snow.
   

• Cross-laminated timber offers some extraordinary advantages for buildings: thermal insulation, seismic properties, good performance under fire and ecological sustainability are some of its properties. This was shown by the study led by Paulina González, professor at the Department of Civil Works Engineering. On May 18^th, the book with the results of the study was launched.

   

  An innovating system for constructing buildings with more than two floors using cross-laminated timber (CLT) was proposed by an outstanding study led by Paulina González, professor at the Department of Civil Works Engineering.

  Cross-laminated timber is a three-layered panel made of lumber. The layers are laid in parallel formation and are “bonded together with special glues, at 90º to the layer below,” Paulina González says. “This gives the panel a high resistance, because wood has different mechanical and physical properties in the three directions,” she adds.

  This technology proposed by professor González has already been implemented in other countries; the difference is that, in Chile, it would be based on radiata pine, which forestry is highly developed in Chile.

  Professor González says that Chile is among the countries with the largest planted areas of radiata pine. “In addition to developing this project, we can give value added to our timber, try to solve the housing shortage of our country, and establish a system that would allow constructing buildings which structural elements, walls and slabs are made of this new product,” she adds.

  Better properties

  According to her research, constructing a cross-laminated timber-based building has many advantages over constructing with other materials, like reinforced concrete; For example, as it is a prefabricated product, it allows reduced construction times and a cleaner environment.

  “You bring the walls and slabs and assemble the building like a meccano set. It reduces construction times to a third, if compared to the construction of a reinforced concrete building,” she explains.

  Besides, cross-laminated timber has seismic properties. As reinforced concrete weighs as much as six times as cross-laminated timber, it generates higher seismic forces than the ones of a CLT-based building. “As it (a CLT based building) is assembled like a meccano set, with steel connectors, it gets so flexible that prevents its destruction,” professor González adds.

  Additionally, when constructing a building with CLT, less time is required, what can eventually lead to a solution for reconstruction works after natural disasters.

  “Construction times are reduced to a third. And so are the costs. The costs of structural work get reduced by 35%, and the total cost, after installations, to 10%,” she says with regards the economic benefits of CLT.

  Radiata pine, the base of the product studied by professor González, is ecologically sustainable. On the one hand, because its carbon footprint- the total amount of greenhouse gases that it emits- is very low; and on the other, because this tree grows very fast and it has extensively been planted in the country.

  “It is sustainable because carbon remains in the timber, and the carbon footprint is almost zero. Also, radiata pine grows very fast. This is why there are so many plantations in Chile.”

  A safe material

  “Depending on its density, when timber burns, it produces a charcoal layer in the outside that works as insulation to prevent fire and heat from entering its inner part,” professor González said, debunking the myth that this material is fragile.

  “It will last longer, even longer than a steel building. The steel building’s ability to resist fire is reduced to a half when it is exposed to 400º C. Timber remains stable for its charcoal layer,” she adds.

  Besides, timber has better acoustic insulation properties than reinforced concrete.

  CORFO Project

  The CORFO Project 12BPC2-13553 “Estudios de Ingeniería para Introducir en Chile un Sistema Constructivo de Rápida Ejecución para Edificios de Mediana Altura, Utilizando Elementos de Madera Contralaminada” lasted for two years; however, researchers at the Faculty of Engineering had conducted former studies on this subject matter. For this reason, after all this process, “we concluded that, considering the use of timber, CLT is the best system for a seismic country,” professor González says.

  “We have been the first ones in developing a project like this in Chile, with this system for medium-rise buildings,” she says.

  Professor González is optimistic about the future that TLC may have in our country due the experiences in other countries of the world. “In Vancouver (Canada), they are designing an eighteen-floored building and organizing a contest to build a 30-floored one,” she explains.

  Based on this study, the book ‘Sistema Constructivo en Madera Contralaminada para Edificios’ was produced. It includes former studies on this subject matter and an outstanding model of a four-floored CLT-based.

  The book was launched on May 18th, at 12:00 h, in a ceremony at the Salón de Honor of Universidad de Santiago, with the presence of President Juan Manuel Zolezzi Cid.

  Translated by Marcela Contreras

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos in the V version of the Contest Anillos Research Projects in Science and Technology. The contest was announced by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research.

Universidad de Santiago was awarded 900 million Chilean pesos for the execution of two projects in the context of the V version of the Contest Anillos Research project in Science and Technology 2014.

Thanks to the Associative Research Program (PIA, in Spanish), 17 projects will be funded nationwide, all of them top-class studies with international scope.

Dr Óscar Bustos Castillo, Vice President of Research, Development and Innovation, said that he was very pleased with the results, adding that “this type of project allows developing cutting-edge research that goes beyond our borders, and this is highly significant to contribute to our university’s internationalization.”

Dr Bustos highlighted that two of the projects that were awarded funding belong to consolidated research groups that, in the short term, could become research centers.

“These study projects will be executed over three years and will allow us to face issues of national interest and global challenges, restating the role we play as a state and public university,” he said.

The projects

One of the projects is led by Dr Maritza Páez and Dr María Victoria Encinas, researchers at the Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, and Dr Jenny Blamey, researcher at Fundación Biociencia, who will address the problems generated by the spontaneous and undesirable damage of materials, known as corrosion or biocorrosion. The name of the study is “Functionalized surfaces: protection against corrosion and biocorrosion.”

They have the goal of replacing the anti corrosion procedures that involve chemical compounds of high toxicity, like chromates, and provide effective and eco-friendly solutions.

Dr Francisco Melo (surface mechanics), Dr José Zagal (electrochemistry) and Dr Manuel Azocar (bioinorganic chemistry) will participate in the project.

Dr Marcela Urzúa (polymers) and Dr Marco Flores (surface physics), both researchers at Universidad de Chile, will take part in the project too, as well as Dr Jenny Blamey and Dr Freddy Boehmwald (microbiology), of Fundación Biociencia, and Dr Mamie Sancy (corrosion-electrochemistry), of the Chilean Air Force.

The second project is led by Dr Raúl Cordero, researcher at the Department of Physics. This is the second time that he leads an Anillo Project (the first time was in 2010). This time, he seeks to better understand the effects of black carbon at the Andean cryosphere. 

Black carbon or soot is a pollutant generated by the use of fossil fuels in the cities that is carried by the wind over the Andean snow, changing its reflectivity and its melting speed. 

According to Dr Cordero, the study “is mainly focused on measuring the content of black carbon in the snow on the west side of the Andes.” For this purpose, they will conduct campaigns to collect samples and analyze their carbon content across the country, from Putre to the Patagonia.

With this data, “we expect to generate a map that shows the black-carbon content in the Andean cryosphere, highlighting the areas of impact. This information will be useful to evaluate the effect of black carbon on glaciers melting,” the researcher explained.

The project is really important, because the country’s long-term sustainability depends on the availability of water resources coming from the Andean snows. However, just like many cold regions of the planet, the Andean cryosphere has doubled the global warming rate. “Although green-house gas emissions seem to be the main cause of this problem, black carbon may be playing a role too,” he added.

“Universidad de Santiago is a leader in interdisciplinary studies that address different aspects of sustainability, what largely explains the successful results of our applications. This project involves an interdisciplinary team of physicists, chemists, glaciologists and engineers of six renowned Chilean universities. Besides, ten international institutions will collaborate with the project, like the German Aerospace Center (DLR, in German) and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC),” Dr Cordero concluded.

Nationwide results

The other 15 projects that were awarded funds belong to the following universities: five to Universidad Católica de Chile; four to Universidad de Chile; two to Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María and one to Universidad de La Frontera, one to Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, one to Universidad Andrés Bello and one to Universidad Autónoma de Chile.

Translated by Marcela Contreras

• The project led by Dr Silvia Matiacevich, professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Technological Faculty, seeks to renew food industry by developing a compound with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties to prolong shelf life of dairy products. The project is funded through a Fondecyt Regular project 2016.

Nowadays, fresh, healthy and natural food consumption has increased, particularly, the intake of dairy products. According to the Chilean Bureau for Agricultural Studies and Policies (ODEPA; in Spanish), in 2013 the intake per capita was 146.5 liter, a national record in the country. 

However, these products require additives for their preservation that are not always natural and that do not allow a balanced and healthy diet.

In this context, Dr Silvia Matiacevich, professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology of the Technological Faculty; Dr Rubén Bustos, professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Faculty of Engineering, and students at both units formed an interdisciplinary research team that will work on the study “Prolonged release of natural active compounds for improving shelf life of a dairy food matrix: Effect of structure obtained by different encapsulation process”. The project is funded by a Fondecyt Regular project (1160463) and it seeks to find a new active compound to preserve dairy products by means of nanotechnology. 

“We want to develop a new active ingredient with antimicrobial and antioxidant properties for dairy foods, in such a way that the compound has a prolonged release during storage, extending the product’s shelf life,” Dr Matiacevich says.

With this in mind, the researchers intend to study how the structure generated in this active ingredient- a powder developed through two different techniques- modifies its prolonged release in time in a real matrix,” she adds.

Food innovation and collaborative work

The objective of the study is to evaluate the effect of the structure obtained through “different encapsulation processes in prolonged release during storage of an encapsulated active agent,” in order to prolong the shelf life of a milk-based food matrix.

“By using encapsulation processes it is possible to obtain nanometric-sized particles, so the principles of nanotechnology are involved in this development,” favoring the compound prolonged release,” Dr Rubén Bustos, co-researcher of this study, says.

Food innovation research has increased worldwide. In Latin America, there are several research groups. For example, there are centers in Argentina, Colombia and Brazil, which professionals will collaborate in this project.

According to Dr Matiacevich, the main contribution of this study lies in that they will work directly with foods, so the study will not only provide basic knowledge but it will be applied to a real matrix.

For his part, Dr Bustos stresses the importance of their work with nanotechnology by saying: “At some point, microencapsulated ingredients were the greatest breakthrough, but now we will work with nanoencapsulated compounds, with much smaller and innovative structures.”

For the research team, the most important fact in relation to this project is that it involves the collaborative work of two departments of two different faculties of Universidad de Santiago de Chile. They also value the support of the Vice Presidency of Research, Development and Innovation, and the collaborative work with national and foreign universities. 

Translated by Marcela Contreras