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2.3.5 Applications and perspectives

Solid state sensors are the most likely to be developed first for use in food processing quality control, as these are sensitive, robust, easier and cheaper to manufacture. However, as stated above these will need to include some pre-filtration step to remove interfering components.

There are some applications of nanostructured coatings within the food processing industry: SPX Process Equipment, are applying DLC coatings in their Waukesha Cherry-Burrell pump range ; SuSoS AG manufacture nanostructured anti-microbial coatings using Teflon or PEG by a sol-gel process which has a life-span of up to 2 years ; Few Chemicals GmbH have developed a sol-gel coating using hybrid polymers which provides easy-to-clean and anti-corrosion for metals, and scratch resistance on glass, which have a life-span up to 5 years ; Sarastro GmbH produces anti-microbial, hygiene and anti-fingerprinting coatings based on sol-gel technologies with life-spans up to several years .

Nanotechnology enabled delivery systems for nutrients may be a fairly young field, however there are already products on the market. For example, Salvona Technologies Inc. manufacture two solid nanoparticulate systems (made from undisclosed constituents, but including lipids and other biopolymers) for the delivery of nutriceuticals, NanoSal™ which consists of free solid nanoparticles and MultiSal™ which is microspheres containing solid nanoparticles; Encapsula NanoSciences produces liposomes for food manufacturers; BASF manufactures a nanoparticulate lycopene; and AquaNova which manufactures micellar delivery systems. In addition, there are several companies which hold patents for nanostructured delivery systems, including Proctor and Gamble (chitosan), Elan Pharma International Ltd (muco-adhesive nanoparticles), Kabi Pharmacia AB (solid lipid nanoparticles), DSM IP assets (isoflavone nanoparticles), BASF (multi-core nanoparticles, and colloidal systems), Snow Brand Milk Produce Co. (iron-whey nanoparticulates), and Coletica (plant protein based nanoparticles). A number of companies manufacture nanoscale minerals, which are promoted as having greater bio-availability (a regularly updated list is maintained on the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies Consumer Inventory website ).

However, there are still many issues to overcome. For example BASF removed its nano-delivery system for CoQ10 (an important anti-oxidant) earlier in 2008 because "consumers had not well received the boosted bioavailability and high absorption claims derived from its nanotechnology-driven encapsulation process."