Nanostructured Fat Crystal Systems

A new understanding of the nature and organization of fat crystalline supramolecular structure, in particular at the nanoscale, has arisen in the past three years. These new findings have helped establish that the first step in the formation of a triacylglycerol network is the creation of nanocrystalline platelets that aggregate into polycrystalline clusters in the micrometer range, ultimately forming a three-dimensional network. This review explains how fat nanostructure can be characterized and highlights recent findings on how crystallization parameters influence the formation of fat nanocrystals. For instance, shear has been shown to modify not only nanoplatelet size but also their aggregation, affecting some macroscopic properties such as porosity and, therefore, the ability of the network to effectively bind liquid oil. This new information on fat nanostructure is relevant from scientific and technological standpoints and has opened up the possibility of nanoengineering material properties as well as developing new products and processes.