3D printed nutritious food: printability, rheology, and novel approaches towards modification of their structural properties

Abstract

A study in extrusion-based 3D printing of nutritious food is presented in this dissertation. This study covers the design of a novel food-ink formulation, printability and rheology. Also, the mechanical analysis of post-processed printed products. Chapter 1 includes the motivation, problem statement and context of this study. It also includes the theoretical framework regarding 3D customized food and 3D food printing techniques’ basic principles. Chapter 2 includes the engineering parameters for extrusion of 3D printed food materials. Then Chapter 3 contains the Hypothesis, Objectives and Reserch Plan followed during this project. Manuscript 1 (Chapter 4) is entitled "3D printed nutritious food: printability, rheology, and novel approaches towards modification of their structural properties." Herein correlations among the printability of formulations and their rheological properties were established. This manuscript is planned to be published in the journal Additive Manufacturing. Chapter 5 presents the mechanical properties of the post-processed materials. The abstract and acceptance letter for an oral presentation accepted in the conference Congreso Iberoamericano de Ingeniería en Alimentos (CIBIA XIII) is presented in Chapter 6. Finally, it is included a disclosure regarding scientific material and an appendix section containing complementary information collected during data organization and analysis. This dissertation showed rheological properties describing promising applications for novel ingredients. Pregelatinized starch results on printing quality can be used to provide guidance for future Three-Dimensional Food Printing (3DFP) studies, especially for those where a hydrocolloid is used as an additive to improve printing behavior of the food-ink formulations.