Spatial distribution of glucose and amino acids within all-aqueous emulsions directs the Maillard reaction and oxidation pathways

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Date
2026-03-21
Authors
Chen, Kangni
Madadlou, Ashkan
De Pascale, Sabrina
Scaloni, Andrea
Fogliano, Vincenzo
Troise, Antonio Dario
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Publisher
Springer Nature
Published Version
10.1038/s42004-026-01951-6
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Abstract
All-aqueous emulsions represent a versatile platform for studying and controlling chemical reactions in foods and biological systems. Through the compartmentalization and segregation of reactants, distinct molecularly crowded microenvironments enable the generation of unique reaction products. We explored how spatial organization within all-aqueous emulsions composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) modulates the Maillard reaction and oxidation reactions between glucose and amino acids. Using untargeted metabolomics and molecular networking, we characterized the chemical diversity of reaction products formed when the reactants were either co-encapsulated within the droplet phase or distributed (segregated) between the two phases of the emulsions. Over 500 compounds were annotated across both systems, revealing distinct molecular profiles driven by reactant localization and phase partitioning. When the precursors were segregated (tryptophan and glucose), oxidation products as aminobenzoyl-, hydroxy- and hydroperoxy-derivatives accumulated preferentially in the PEG phase. Conversely, when the reactants were co-encapsulated (asparagine and glucose) within Na2SO4 droplets, enhanced formation of the Amadori products and dipeptides was observed, guided by phase-specific microenvironment. Our results demonstrate that the reactant location, in addition to time and temperature, plays a critical role in modulating food-relevant reactions, with a new framework for controlling the formation of glycation compounds via emulsion-based microreactors. (Figure presented.)
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Keywords
All-aqueous emulsions , Maillard reaction , Oxidation reactions , Untargeted metabolomics , Molecular networking , [FoodNutritionalSciences]
Citation
Chen, K, Madadlou, A, De Pascale, S, Scaloni, A, Fogliano, V & Troise, A D 2026, 'Spatial distribution of glucose and amino acids within all-aqueous emulsions directs the Maillard reaction and oxidation pathways', Communications Chemistry, vol. 9, no. 1, 176, pp. 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-026-01951-6
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https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105038591800
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https://hdl.handle.net/10468/19239
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© 2026, the Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0