Microimaging in Food Science: Techniques, Applications, and Future Trends

Food systems are complex materials, displaying diverse soft matter behaviors that are often dependent on their microstructure. Microimaging techniques play a pivotal role in unveiling these structural intricacies, leading to a deeper understanding of the material properties, quality, nutritional dynamics, and overall behavior of food products. In the dynamic interplay of food science and soft matter, microimaging stands as a cornerstone, illuminating the intricate microstructures that dictate the properties and behavior of food materials.

Despite significant advancements, there remain gaps in our understanding of how these microstructures influence food properties and their transformations during processing and digestion. Recent studies have highlighted the potential of advanced imaging techniques such as electron microscopy, synchrotron-based imaging, and optical microscopy in providing unprecedented insights into food microstructures. Parallel to microimaging techniques, the field of image analysis has evolved tremendously in recent years, with this, new image analysis workflows can be adapted or developed to quantify food microstructure. Quantitative microstructural analysis will allow correlations of measurements at multiple length scales. Therefore, there is a pressing need for further research to optimize these techniques for food samples, address challenges in sample preparation, and integrate computational approaches for enhanced image analysis.

This research topic aims to explore the latest innovations in microimaging techniques, their diverse applications, and the rich insights they provide in understanding food as a form of soft matter. To gather further insights into this topic, we welcome original research articles, reviews, short communications, and case studies addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Innovative Microimaging Techniques: Papers detailing advancements in electron microscopy, synchrotron-based imaging, optical and fluorescence microscopy, and other emerging techniques.

- Quantitative image analysis: New uses of image analysis to quantify food microstructure

- Sample Preparation & Handling: Discussing best practices, challenges, and novel methods tailored for food samples.

- Applications in Food Processing: How microimaging aids in monitoring structural changes, ensuring product quality, and optimizing processing parameters.

- Digestion & Nutrient Release: Research highlighting the microstructural changes during digestion and their implications on nutrient bioavailability.

- Computational Approaches: Contributions on artificial intelligence, machine learning in image analysis, and digital reconstruction in the context of food microimaging.

- Reviews & Case Studies: Comprehensive overviews of the state of the art or specific case studies with critical insights.

- Future Trends: Speculative and exploratory papers discussing the potential directions, challenges, and opportunities in the field.

- Agricultural research and food structure microimaging: Complementarity, opportunities, and links.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Clinical Trial
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Food structure, Confocal microscopy, Scanning electron microscope

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.