Master's thesis proposals

Supervisor

Research area

Tentative title

Description of the project

Starting date

Requisites

Massimo Mozzon

Application of chromatographic techniques (HRGC, HPLC) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS) in the study of relationships between technology and quality of food and beverages.

Chemical and structural characterization of the lipid fraction of edible insects

T. molitor (mealworm) is a perfect candidate for rearing with the aim of producing a novel food for the future. Mealworms have the ability to recycle waste materials of low quality into high-quality feed rich in energy, protein and fat in a relatively short time. The nutritional value of edible insects is highly variable and the differences also depend on their feed substrate.

Chemical and structural characterization of the lipids of mealworm larvae reared on different substrates (by-products of organic wheat milling) will be carried out. Chromatographic techniques (HRGC, HPLC) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS) will be used for determining fatty acids composition, triacylglycerols profile, partial glycerides content, and unsaponifiable matter composition.

October 2017

--

Massimo Mozzon

Application of chromatographic techniques (HRGC, HPLC) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS) in the study of relationships between technology and quality of food and beverages.

Edible oil from Tetrapleura tetraptera (Taub) fruits and seeds

Tetrapleura tetraptera (Taub) is a perennial tree that is naturally distributed over a large part of tropical Africa, especially in the rain forest belt of West, Central and East Africa. Fruits have varied applications in folk medicine and they are also used as a spice in food preparations. Despite their use as food, fruits and seeds are scarcely characterised, especially for their lipid fraction.

The project aims to fully characterise the composition of Tetrapleura oil (fatty acid composition; triacylglycerols profile, unsaponifiable matter composition) and to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of “clean” (water based) extraction technologies

January 2018

--

Massimo Mozzon

Application of chromatographic techniques (HRGC, HPLC) and mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS, LC-MS/MS) in the study of relationships between technology and quality of food and beverages.

Edible oil from African pear, (Dacryodes edulis) fruits

There are many lesser-known, underutilized indigenous African crops that are useful sources of vegetable oil. One of these is the African pear, Dacryodes edulis (G. Don) H.J. Lam, an evergreen fruit tree that is found naturally in the forest habitat extending from southwestern Nigeria to Zambia and Angola.

The project aims to fully characterise the composition of African pear oil (fatty acid composition; triacylglycerols profile, unsaponifiable matter composition) and to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of “clean” (water based) extraction technologies.

January 2018

--

Nadia Raffaelli

i) Biochemical characterization of enzymes and transcriptional regulators involved in the metabolism of vitamin B3 in bacteria and humans.

ii) Application of chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques to the analysis of food nutrients, including vitamins, amino acids, proteins and nucleotides.

Characterization of the protein fraction of edible insects 

Several studies report that insects represent high-value protein sources. This project will analyse the amino acid composition of proteins extracted from mealworm larvae reared on different by-products of organic wheat milling. The analysis will be carried out through chromatographic separation (HPLC)  of protein hydrolysates after derivatization of amino acids with fluorescent reagents. The results will be instrumental to understand the impact of diverse feed substrates on insect’s protein quality, and to assess the possible exploitation of edible insects for the transformation of by-products into high nutritional value food.

June 2018

--

Gianfranco Romanazzi

Plant pathology, molecular biology

Use of resistance inducers for the control of postharvest decay of fresh fruit

Postharvest pathogens are able to reduce shelf life of fresh fruit, and alternatives to synthetic fungicides are welcome. The student will join trials in which several natural compounds (chitosan, essential oils, etc.) will be tested for their effectiveness and the best one characterised for eliciting activities in host tissues with qRT-PCR

March 2018

--