Structured fluids such as emulsions and liquid crystalline mesophases can b
e used to control aroma release.
This study shows that the use of a gas sensor array coupled with pattern re
cognition analysis can be particularly useful in studying volatile profiles
.
A mixture of 8 carefully selected volatile, hydrophilic and hydrophobic com
pounds was entrapped in 4 different matrices: water, lipids (sunflower oil,
unsaturated monoglycerides), emulsion (20% wt water) and cubic phases (20
and 30% wt water).
A clear discrimination between the release pattern of the different matrice
s has been measured by the sensor array system. It has been shown that the
cubic phase release patterns is not only controlled by its composition but
also depended strongly on the lipid/water interfacial area.
The combined use of structured fluids (structure-release relationship) and
sensor arrays allows to control and to distinguish the release patterns of
volatiles.