Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

POS Bio-Sciences (POS), a Canadian agricultural biotechnology and food processing company, has developedx000D
and marketed a series of microencapsulated omega-3 oil powders. Encapsulated edible oils are increasinglyx000D
popular in the nutraceutical and food industry because of their improved shelf-life and ease of handling inx000D
comparison with liquid oils. However, POS has encountered some difficulties in quality assessment in thesex000D
products, including determining the amount of oil that deposits on the surface of the microcapsules, assessingx000D
the amount of oil loading in the microcapsules and measuring the extent of oil oxidation as a function ofx000D
processing conditions and aging. At present, there is no known method for assessing quantities of surface oilx000D
and existing assays for determining loading and oxidation are insensitive, time consuming and generatex000D
significant amounts of hazardous chemical waste. The goal of this project is to solve these analytical chemistryx000D
problems by using Raman microspectroscopy, a modern analytical spectroscopy method. The project is ax000D
collaboration between the research group of Paige, who has expertise in optical spectroscopy and surfacex000D
chemistry, and POS, the producer of the encapsulated oils. The proponents ultimately envision thex000D
development of an easy-to-use spectroscopic assay that will allow POS to carry out microencapsulated oilx000D
sample evaluation at any point in their manufacturing process in an efficient, accurate and inexpensive way.