Liposomes are self-assembled spherical lipid bilayers that have revolutionized a wide range of fields, including food and active packaging, by trapping and delivering sensitive bioactive molecules. Yet, challenges persist regarding their structural stability and efficiency.

These challenges will be explored by AIAS-COFUND MSCA Fellow Natalia Prieto Vidal from the Department of Food Science at Aarhus University in her project ‘Beta-LPS: Exploiting marine Betaine lipids to design the future LiPoSomes’ that has been awarded a Villum Experiment grant of DKK 2 million for her unconventional thinking.

Novel elements for future liposomes design

In her Villum Experiment ‘Beta-LPS’ project, Natalia Prieto Vidal aims to develop a foundational understanding of the physicochemical properties of betaine lipids - key components of algae membranes with unique thermodynamics - and their potential as novel elements for future liposomes design. With the ‘Beta-LPS’ project, Natalia Prieto Vidal will explore the unorthodox idea that mimicking the resilient mechanisms employed by marine organisms, such as algae, to adapt to environmental stressors will enhance the performance of liposomal delivery systems.

Enhancing food quality and its shelf-life for sustainable food system

Potentially, this new project can lead to the discovery of novel building blocks to design high-performance and robust lipid-based delivery systems for the advancement of high-end blue technology applications. In practice the research has an opportunity to enhance food quality and its shelf-life, supporting the development of a more sustainable food system by reducing waste.

In total, the Villum Foundation has selected 51 innovative research projects to receive funding as part of the Villum Experiment programme that assesses projects solely on whether the projects challenge research norms and have the potential to change fundamentally the way we approach important topics.

About the Villum Experiment Programme

The Villum Experiment Programme supports researchers in the technical and natural sciences that have unconventional projects and ideas with the potential to answer a long-standing question in science, bring a transformative understanding of a central topic, nurture a fruitful new research area or create the foundation of a novel method or technology.

This programme is advertised in an open competitive call and support projects up to DKK 2 million for up to two years.

Read more about Villum Experiment here:
https://villumfonden.dk/en/nyhed/digital-scents-insects-raw-material

Contact

Natalia Prieto Vidal, AIAS-COFUND MSCA fellow,
E-mail: npv@food.au.dk

Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) &
Department of Food Science,
Aarhus University
Denmark