Abstract
Fotis Spyropoulos, a senior research fellow at the University of Birmingham's School of Chemical Engineering, UK, is conducting studies to develop a near zero-calorie gel that eliminates hunger problems in people by by lining the stomach. The lining the stomach results in making people satisfied by creating a food replacement. The food replacement is a pH sensitive hydrocolloid, a type of hydrophilic polymer that binds with water molecules to form a gel similar to the gelatine that is the main component of jelly. In vitro tests suggest the gel forms spheres in the stomach, but the ideal situation will be to gel the entire contents of the stomach. Spyropoulos expects the solution will involve finding a way to make the hydrocolloid gel more slowly so that it has time to disperse throughout the stomach.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | 32-34 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| No. | 824 |
| Specialist publication | Chemical Engineer |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Feb 2010 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemical Engineering(all)
- Chemistry(all)