Nanotechnology in Food Science, Health and Social Perspectives, Factors Affecting Occurrence, Toxicological Significance on Human Health and Micro-Technologies Applied to Food Proteins

Abstract

Electronics, communications, energy generation, computers, cosmetics, medicine, and health are just a few areas where micro and nanotechnology have played a crucial role for a long time.  In more recent times, they have likewise transformed the food and agricultural industries, particularly in relation to packaging and issues of food safety and quality.  The initial intent of the phrases "nanotechnology" and "microtechnology" was to describe technological advancements that extended beyond the realm of micrometer-scale material and engineering control.  These days, they mean a certain kind of hardtech processing that involves manipulating molecules and atoms individually.  "Nanotechnology" and "microtechnology" both originate from the Greek prefixes "nano" and "micro," respectively.  Micro (10 -6 m= 1 m m) is the unique scale that pertains to the data in microtechnology.  Conversely, the nanometre scale (10 -9 m = 1 nm) is what is being referred to in nanotechnology.  Design, characterisation, manufacture, and application of microscale and nanoscale systems and components—which can also include components related to food or health—are thus the primary foci of microtechnologies and nanotechnologies.  Their interplay with other fundamental or cutting-edge technologies is resulting in more sophisticated advancements that will likely have a greater influence all the way through the food supply chain, from farming and processing to warehousing and shipping, ultimately leading to better food tracking, traceability, and safety.  Humans obtain the building blocks for life from the complicated combinations of components that make up food.  The use of heat (fire) to prepare food has been one of many evolutionary shifts in human diets throughout the millennia, with the goal of improving flavour, digestibility, taste, and overall food quality.  After Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, and archaic Homo sapiens were extinct (around 50,000 to 100,000 years ago), it's possible that modern humans ate largely uncooked meat, grains, and vegetables.  It goes without saying that human diets have changed significantly throughout the years, particularly with the invention of cooking, which is fundamental to every human culture.  That "cooking food, especially starchy food, as an innovation has, perhaps more than any other in human history, enabled people to extend the ranges into habitats that were impossible to live in before" sums up the impact of cooking on human evolution and social behaviour the best.  A wide range of processing techniques were made available to the food business throughout the industrial revolution. These included the ability to store food for an extended period of time, as well as the addition of procedures to enhance texture, flavour, and safety by eliminating harmful microbes, enzymes, and toxins.  Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and trace amounts of vitamins, minerals, and minor nutrients make up the modern human diet, which supplies energy for a healthy lifestyle.  The digestive process cannot occur without water, even though it is not a nutrient.  All sorts of foods—grains, fruits, vegetables, milk, meat, eggs—contain these components, which have clearly defined chemical structures and reactive functional groups like -COOH, -NH 2, and -OH.  Volatile and nonvolatile byproducts with distinct properties, including those that are beneficial (flavour) and those that are unwanted (toxicants, such as acrylamide), are inevitable outcomes of any procedure that involves heating carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nitrite (a preservative) to moderate to high temperatures.  No more than three classes of possible dietary carcinogens—nitrosamines, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and heterocyclic aromatic amines—existed prior to early 2002.  Their prevalence, characteristics, analysis, and mitigation strategies have been the subject of a large body of scientific literature.  In light of the possibility for toxicity, a new class of acrylamide was added.  To better understand the processes leading to the formation of acrylamide and to define steps for its reduction while maintaining the highly desirable organoleptic (sensory aroma, colour, feel, and taste) characteristics of the food, unprecedented extensive independent and collaborative research projects were initiated in response to this announcement and the heightened health concerns (potential human neurotoxin).