Biochemical and functional properties of food ingredients and their chemical and enzymatic modifications
Obtaining enzymes from extremophilic and recombinant microorganisms. Characterizing these enzymes and determining their suitability for producing new food components to improve the functional properties and quality of the obtained products or to help improve currently used technological processes. Enzymatic synthesis of oligosaccharides. Properties and applications of immobilized enzymes and microbial cells (Pawel Filipkowski).
Extraction and characterization of keratinolytic enzymes from microorganisms, determination of their ability to produce biopeptides useful in the production of functional foods, prevention and therapy of many diseases (Izabela Sinkiewicz).
Development of methods for the rational management and use of by-products resulting from the processing of raw materials of marine origin to obtain collagen, gelatine, non-collagenous proteins, protein hydrolysates and fish oil, and establishment of guidelines for their use in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries (Szymon Mania, Izabela Sinkiewicz, Agata Sommer, Hanna Staroszczyk, Robert Tylingo).
Physical, chemical and enzymatic modifications of natural fats, with special emphasis on catalytic hydrogenation and transesterification of triacylglycerols. Investigation of changes in the properties and nutritional value of lipids occurring during thermal processing and other processes. Methods to prevent unfavourable lipid transformations. Preparation of structured lipids and other modified fats with specific functional properties (Dorota Martysiak-Zurowska, Karol Parchem, Agata Sommer).
Mild food processing
To assess the benefits and limitations of using high pressures (up to 200 MPa) at temperatures below 0°C as a food preservation and processing method. To learn about the transformations that occur under these conditions in selected components of the muscle tissue of fish and warm-blooded animals. To study the survival of microorganisms under model conditions and in the food environment depending on process parameters, microorganism properties, and environmental composition (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk).
Study of the impact of unconventional methods of breast milk preservation on its shelf life and biological value in terms of the needs of breast milk banks (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk, Dorota Martysiak-Żurowska).
Food health safety
Impact of applied technologies on food quality and health safety. Healthiness of commercially available infant foods in terms of Maillard reaction products, content of oxidized forms of lipids, nitrates(III) and nitrates(V). Changes in the composition of breast milk during different periods of lactation concerning selected dietary components (Dorota Martysiak-Zurowska).
Determining microbiological safety of food products (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk).
Application of microwave radiation field for gentle fixation of food products with high content of bioactive components. Effect of pasteurization using microwave radiation field on microorganisms and bioactive food components (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk, Dorota Martysiak-Żurowska).
Food analysis
Application of microwave radiation field for mild fixation of food products with high content of bioactive components. Effect of pasteurization using microwave radiation field on microorganisms and bioactive food components (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk, Dorota Martysiak-Żurowska).
Use of advanced chromatographic (HPTLC, HPLC, UHPLC) and spectroscopic (HR/MS) techniques to analyze various groups of secondary plant metabolites (e.g. polyphenols, betalains, carotenoids, glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, indoles) for assessing the health-promoting quality of agricultural crops, selecting optimal plant growing conditions, monitoring the metabolome of products during processing and fixation, and designing dietary supplements and functional and personalized foods for different consumer groups (Izabela Koss-Mikołajczyk, Barbara Kusznierewicz).
Sensory analysis and organoleptic evaluation of food products (Robert Tylingo, Agata Sommer, Szymon Mania).
Food rheology
Application of instrumental analysis methods in the evaluation of rheology of solids and liquids. Rheological characterization of raw materials and food products, factors affecting structural-mechanical properties of food (Mania Szymon, Agata Sommer, Hanna Staroszczyk, Robert Tylingo).
Biologically active compounds
Anticarcinogenic components of cruciferous vegetables and fruits with high antioxidant potential, their identification and characterization, determination of the influence of physicochemical factors on the biological activity of these components, Development of technologies for the production of health-promoting foods and documented their importance in the prevention of cancer and cardiovascular diseases and in reducing toxic side effects of chemotherapy in oncology patients (Agnieszka Bartoszek, Izabela Koss-Mikołajczyk, Barbara Kusznierewicz in cooperation with other Departments of the Department of Chemistry and other Polish and foreign universities).
To determine the biological activity of oxidized lipids using a gastrointestinal cell line as a model of tissue exposed to direct contact with digestive contents. Determination of the role of oxidized phospholipids in the pathogenesis of civilization diseases. The importance of lipotoxicity in the induction of cellular oxidative stress (Karol Parchem).
Analysis of the effect of using antioxidants on the stability of high-fat products. Obtaining cooking oils enriched in bioactive components derived from plants. (Dorota Martysiak-Żurowska).
Functional foods
Application of microbial consortia for obtaining functional fermented beverages from by-products of the fruit and vegetable industry. Probiotics and probiotic products - characterization of biological activity (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk).
Intestinal lipid digestion in vitro
Determination of the effect of lipid oxidation on the rate of their hydrolysis during simulated intestinal digestion in vitro. Effect of oxidative modification of phospholipids on the size of aggregation structures formed in aqueous medium and their susceptibility to hydrolysis (Karol Parchem).
Functional materials
Obtaining new functional materials using natural polymers of microbial origin (bacterial cellulose) and isolated from renewable raw materials (chitin, chitosan, gelatin, collagen, keratin), biodegradable thermoplastic materials based on PLA and PCL, and materials compatible with 3D printing techniques: FDM, SLA (Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk, Szymon Mania, Izabela Sinkiewicz, Sommer Agata, Hanna Staroszczyk, Robert Tylingo)