ATOL

Context

Depending on their structure, oligosaccharides are known for their interesting bio-active properties such as anti-oxidant, anti-hypertensive, anticoagulant agent, plant elicitors, prebiotic activity,… They can be used in food industry (stabilizer, thickener), pharmaceuticals (absorbing & gelling agent, excipient), medical devices, personal care industry (creams, lotions), cardboard and paper industries. Additionally, oligosaccharides can be grafted onto surfaces or used as tuneable polar structure in biological, biodegradable and/or biocompatible dispersants for aqueous media. Recently, Nutrition Sciences has, in cooperation with VITO, completed an EU funded project on pectin oligosaccharides as prebiotics for animal health whereof the results will serve as a base for new developments in the feed sector.

Goals

Diverse renewable resources rich in polysaccharides, e.g. pectins, chitin, alginates, carrageenans, agars, (arabino)xylan, starch, etc, can all be used as resource for tailored oligosaccharides. The main goals & challenges are to identify which chemical identities (length, sugar composition, substitution) give the desired and most performant functional properties and how to produce & purify them efficiently and uniquely. The desired result is a new value chain starting with locally available (poly)saccharides and a conversion plant with end users to formulate the specialty oligo- and/or (side stream) monosaccharides in different applications.