Iron Microparticle “Seasoning” Helps Fortify Foods

Around the world, about 2 billion individuals undergo from iron deficiency, which might result in anemia, impaired mind improvement in youngsters, and elevated toddler mortality.

To fight that downside, MIT researchers have provide you with a brand new technique to fortify meals and drinks with iron, utilizing small crystalline particles. These particles, often called metal-organic frameworks, may very well be sprinkled on meals, added to staple meals equivalent to bread, or integrated into drinks like espresso and tea.

“We’re creating a solution that can be seamlessly added to staple foods across different regions,” says Ana Jaklenec, a principal investigator at MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. “What’s considered a staple in Senegal isn’t the same as in India or the U.S., so our goal was to develop something that doesn’t react with the food itself. That way, we don’t have to reformulate for every context — it can be incorporated into a wide range of foods and beverages without compromise.”

The particles designed on this research can even carry iodine, one other crucial nutrient. The particles may be tailored to hold essential minerals equivalent to zinc, calcium, or magnesium.

“We are very excited about this new approach and what we believe is a novel application of metal-organic frameworks to potentially advance nutrition, particularly in the developing world,” says Robert Langer, the David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT and a member of the Koch Institute.

Jaklenec and Langer are the senior authors of the research, which seems at this time within the journal Matter. MIT postdoc Xin Yang and Linzixuan (Rhoda) Zhang PhD ’24 are the lead authors of the paper.

Iron stabilization

Food fortification generally is a profitable technique to fight nutrient deficiencies, however this strategy is commonly difficult as a result of many vitamins are fragile and break down throughout storage or cooking. When iron is added to meals, it could actually react with different molecules within the meals, giving the meals a metallic style.

In earlier work, Jaklenec’s lab has proven that encapsulating vitamins in polymers can defend them from breaking down or reacting with different molecules. In a small medical trial, the researchers discovered that girls who ate bread fortified with encapsulated iron have been in a position to soak up the iron from the meals.

However, one downside to this strategy is that the polymer provides a number of bulk to the fabric, limiting the quantity of iron or different vitamins that find yourself within the meals.

“Encapsulating iron in polymers significantly improves its stability and reactivity, making it easier to add to food,” Jaklenec says. “But to be effective, it requires a substantial amount of polymer. That limits how much iron you can deliver in a typical serving, making it difficult to meet daily nutritional targets through fortified foods alone.”

To overcome that problem, Yang got here up with a brand new concept: Instead of encapsulating iron in a polymer, they may use iron itself as a constructing block for a crystalline particle often called a metal-organic framework, or MOF (pronounced “moff”).

MOFs include metallic atoms joined by natural molecules known as ligands to create a inflexible, cage-like construction. Depending on the mixture of metals and ligands chosen, they can be utilized for all kinds of functions.

“We thought maybe we could synthesize a metal-organic framework with food-grade ligands and food-grade micronutrients,” Yang says. “Metal-organic frameworks have very high porosity, so they can load a lot of cargo. That’s why we thought we could leverage this platform to make a new metal-organic framework that could be used in the food industry.”

In this case, the researchers designed a MOF consisting of iron sure to a ligand known as fumaric acid, which is commonly used as a meals additive to reinforce taste or assist protect meals.

This construction prevents iron from reacting with polyphenols — compounds generally present in meals equivalent to entire grains and nuts, in addition to espresso and tea. When iron does react with these compounds, it varieties a metallic polyphenol complicated that can’t be absorbed by the physique.

The MOFs’ construction additionally permits them to stay secure till they attain an acidic surroundings, such because the abdomen, the place they break down and launch their iron payload.

Double-fortified salts

The researchers additionally determined to incorporate iodine of their MOF particle, which they name NuMOF. Iodized salt has been very profitable at stopping iodine deficiency, and plenty of efforts at the moment are underway to create “double-fortified salts” that may additionally include iron.

Delivering these vitamins collectively has confirmed tough as a result of iron and iodine can react with one another, making each much less more likely to be absorbed by the physique. In this research, the MIT staff confirmed that when they fashioned their iron-containing MOF particles, they may load them with iodine, in a means that the iron and iodine don’t react with one another.

In checks of the particles’ stability, the researchers discovered that the NuMOFs may face up to long-term storage, excessive warmth and humidity, and boiling water.

Throughout these checks, the particles maintained their construction. When the researchers then fed the particles to mice, they discovered that each iron and iodine turned accessible within the bloodstream inside a number of hours of the NuMOF consumption.

The researchers at the moment are engaged on launching an organization that’s creating espresso and different drinks fortified with iron and iodine. They additionally hope to proceed working towards a double-fortified salt that may very well be consumed by itself or integrated into staple meals merchandise.

The analysis was partially supported by J-WAFS Fellowships for Water and Food Solutions.

Reference: Yang X, Zhang L, Chen F, et al. Ferrous dietary metal-organic framework as meals fortificant. Matter. 2025;0(0). doi: 10.1016/j.matt.2025.102372

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