Team:Exeter/Applications

From 2012.igem.org

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   <p>Polysaccharides are present in most foods but not just as the notorious “<i>e-numbers</i>”.</p><br>
   <p>Polysaccharides are present in most foods but not just as the notorious “<i>e-numbers</i>”.</p><br>
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<p>They can be used as edible food glues to accomplish many different types of effects from standard assembly of food parts to highly decorative pieces of food art. Along with its artistic capabilities there are also practical implications in the uses of external polysaccharides when regarding food. They also offer applications in areas such as: thickeners, suspension agents, oxidation resistance, dehydration resistance, and extending the shelf life of the foodstuff. Cyclodextrin has a further application in the food industry, acting as cholesterol reducing agent it can be used to remove cholesterol from food products. </p><br>
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<p>They can be used as edible food glues to accomplish many different types of effects from the assembly of food parts (like cakes) to highly decorative pieces of food art. Along with their artistic capabilities polysaccharides also offer themselves to: thickeners, suspension agents, oxidation- and dehydration resistance, and the ability to extend the shelf life of foodstuff. Cyclodextrin can also act as a cholesterol reducing agent removing cholesterol from food products. </p>
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<p>Could this one day take the form of an elite <i>“diet”</i> pill? It wouldn’t be an alternative to exercise though, were such a tablet to exist people would still need to keep fit to obtain any muscle! </p><br>
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<p>In the future imagine if we could amplify the ability to preserve food... this would have a massive effect on global food shortages. Not only might it be possible to coat, or perhaps even grow, current “perishables” such as fruit and veg but the billion tons worth of food which is wasted each year could find itself ingested instead of buried. </p>
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<p>In the future imagine if we could amplify the ability to preserve food... this would have a massive effect on global food shortages. Not only might it be possible to coat, or perhaps even grow, current “<i>perishables</i>” such as fruit and veg but the billion tons worth of food which is wasted every year could find itself ingested instead of buried! </p>
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<p>With modernised countries overcoming the wasteful nature of today’s attitude, the food which is currently produced to sustain the demand could then be exported to nations who still struggle with producing sufficient quantities of food.</p><br>
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<p>With modernised countries overcoming the wasteful attitudes found in people today, the food which is currently produced to sustain the demand could then be exported to nations who still struggle with producing sufficient quantities of food.</p><br>
<p><br><CENTER><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/8/80/Exe2012_appfoo.jpg" alt="" title="" width="780" height="272"></CENTER></p><br><br>  
<p><br><CENTER><img src="https://static.igem.org/mediawiki/2012/8/80/Exe2012_appfoo.jpg" alt="" title="" width="780" height="272"></CENTER></p><br><br>  
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<p>When extended space flight becomes a reality, consumable lifetime will be a serious issue. Therefore polysaccharide coating could provide a means to supply a space vessel with not only a sufficient amount of long lasting food but also provisions that are resistant to water loss, bacterial growth, and mutation by ionising radiation. </p> <br>
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<p>When extended space flight becomes a reality, consumable lifetime will be a serious issue. Therefore polysaccharide coating could provide a means to supply a space vessel with not only a sufficient amount of long lasting food, but also provisions that are resistant to; water loss, bacterial growth, and mutations from ionising radiation. </p> <br>
<p>It has been shown that polysaccharides can not only stimulate the germination of some seeds but also protect plants from specific pathogens and funguses.<p>
<p>It has been shown that polysaccharides can not only stimulate the germination of some seeds but also protect plants from specific pathogens and funguses.<p>

Revision as of 15:32, 23 September 2012

Polysaccharides have a spectacular range of properties which stem from the relationships between the chemical nature of the sugars, their arrangement within the polymer and the arrangement of the polymer itself. They appear in every corner of the natural world and have multiple applications in nature ranging from protection to energy storage.

Not surprisingly humanity has taken advantage of their diversity and by doing so created a huge variety of uses within the medicinal, material and consumable sectors.




We invite you to take a brief look at what we believe could one day be possible if a system to design bespoke polysaccharides existed.


“It is not what we believe to be impossible that holds us back, but merely the limit to our imagination.”

Alex Clowsley, 2012.





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