תקציר:

An interfacial Maillard reaction between furfural and cysteine in two different food-grade nano-sized self-assembled solns. with two oppositely curved interfaces (W/O and O/W microemulsions) have been studied and compared. These microemulsions are selective microreactors strongly enhancing the generation of sulfur-contg. flavors. The Maillard reactions occur at lower temps. than in water and are much faster. The interfaces of both W/O and O/W microemulsions are capable of enhancing the Maillard reactions in which the selectivity and reactivity are controlled by the compn. of the interface and its curvature. In the W/O microemulsions the Maillard reaction was controlled and enhanced by the interfacial concn. of a co-emulsifier such as butanol and are restricted by the concn. of the core water reservoir. On the other hand, in the O/W microemulsions, where water is the continuous phase, the reaction rates are enhanced by increase in the water content and the microemulsion curvature. The Maillard product internal compn. (regioselectivity and type of products) is dictated by temp., time, pH and mainly by the nature of the interface, and by the surfactant nature and its interfacial compn. [on SciFinder(R)]