Clay minerals preserve food
Argentinian chemist researches dietary supplements at the University of Jena
They're not always welcome on food ingredient lists: the big "E"s. Dietary supplements have an unjustified reputation for being artificial. Because it is not uncommon for these to be natural substances. The preservative E 234, for example, is nothing more than the peptide nisin. It is produced by a specific lactic acid bacterium and is mainly found in raw milk. In combination with a mineral, nisin can have an antibiotic or antimicrobial effect and therefore preserves food – mainly dairy products. It is also used in medicine as an antibiotic.
Dr. Carolina Ibarguren at the Institute for Materials Science and Technology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena. The Argentinian chemist is on a Humboldt scholarship for six months at the University of Jena. "The main thing for me is to learn as much as possible about surface technologies during this time," says Carolina Ibarguren. "And Jena is exactly the right place for this, because here I can find all the important methods in one place." Frank A. Müller, Professor of Surface and Interface Technologies, drew her attention to the Friedrich Schiller University.
Materials science is important for her work, above all because she is looking for a suitable carrier material for the nisin, because it can only fully develop its antimicrobial effect if it is immobilized on such a carrier. The 33-year-old primarily examines clay minerals for this purpose. "While clay and food are not usually associated, the clay minerals have many properties that lend themselves to being combined with nisin," she says. Their layered structure is very well suited to absorbing other substances. She wants to find out in Jena whether and how that can happen with Nisin.
She could also have carried out her research in Argentina. However, she would have had to travel across the country to do so. The capital Buenos Aires alone is around 1.800 kilometers from her home university in Salta in the north of the South American country. "I know some colleagues who have already studied and worked at the University of Jena," says Carolina Ibarguren. "They were very happy with the conditions and also with the quiet life in the city." This stay abroad is now the right moment to get an idea for yourself and to gain experience.
She will finish her research project next year. After that, the Argentinian guest scientist would like to devote herself to other peptides that have not yet been approved as dietary supplements.
Source: Jena [Uni Jena]
