The success in designing and developing new food systems relies on perfecting the tactile sensations of food composition. A fundamental understanding of textural mouthfeel is essential, as it depends on rheological and tribological processes during oral processing. As part of this, new evidences on the role of oral mechanoreceptors in rheological stimulation has been postulated and is currently being investigated. Our expertise lies in the biophysical quantification of food formulations and their interactions at both cellular and molecular levels, employing mostly high-throughput biological atomic force microscopy. We aim to discern the underlying physics of food processing in the oral cavity and determine the individual contributing partners (e.g., mechanoreceptors, chemoreceptors, saliva) that modulate textural mouthfeel. This outcome, when combined with predictive modeling, machine learning, AI, and sensory trials, will facilitate the characterization and optimization of the sensory perception of plant-based compounds as mouthfeel enhancers and modulators for direct consumer use.
We are looking for project partners who can collaborate with us in this highly interdisciplinary approach to provide a holistic perspective on the development of plant-based texture enhancers. Our objective is to gain a deeper understanding of these modulators and to quantify them from a biochemical, biological, and advanced data analytics standpoint. Partners with expertise in metabolomic profiling, food science and biotechnology, machine learning, and AI are encouraged to participate in this consortium.

The Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich comprises a unique research profile at the interface of Food Chemistry & Biology, Chemosensors & Technology, and Bioinformatics & Machine Learning. As this profile has grown far beyond the previous core discipline of classical Food Chemistry, we are spearheading the development of a Food Systems Biology at the Institute. Our aim is to develop new approaches for the sustainable production of sufficient quantities of foods whose biologically active effector molecule profiles are geared towards health and nutritional needs, but also towards the sensory preferences of consumers. To do so, we explore the complex networks of sensorially relevant effector molecules along the entire food value chain with the overall aim to make their effects systemically understandable and predictable in the long term.

A recently implemented interface to Leibniz-LSB@TUM is that of experimental biophysics research, which is intended to facilitate the development of a comprehensive research workflow aimed at elucidating the food system as a whole. By employing advanced microscopic techniques and synthetic biology, we are able to quantify cells and molecules, along with their responses to external stimuli in real-time thereby bridging the gaps between nanoscale and macroscale oral perception of food formulations and analysis. We can offer the following tools for research:
• Advanced biological atomic force microscope (Bruker, NanoWizard V) coupled to an epifluorescence microscope (Zeiss Axio Observer 7) with FluidFM
• Confocal laser scanning microscope (Zeiss LSM 780 with airyscan)
• Fluorometric imaging plate reader (FLIPRtetra, Molecular Devices)
• Plate reader (TECAN InFinite)
• ÄKTA Pure FPLC (Cytiva, equipped for Size exclusion chromatography)
• Extruder system (Avanti) for liposome preparation
• S1 Biosafety laboratories with genetic engineering facilities
• Fully equipped cell culture laboratory (S1, workbenches, incubators, centrifuges, etc.)

Visit us at https://www.leibniz-lsb.de/ for more information.