Microscopic bubbles — which can affect the taste, smell and feel of foods and cosmetics — can be made to last for more than a year if they are coated with a special mixture of sugary molecules, according to a study published on the 30 May in Science.

    Researchers from Harvard University and Unilever say their findings could help to extend the life of many consumer goods that contain microscopic bubbles, from ice cream to personal care products. 

    Such bubbles are hard to keep stable for long periods because they naturally gobble up smaller bubbles and grow in size. The researchers stabilised the bubbles with an insoluble coat of molecules formed from glucose syrup, sodium stearate and water.

    The collaboration started when Rodney Bee, a retired Unilever chemist, showed a microscope image of stable micro-bubbles at a conference attended by Howard Stone of Harvard. “What Rodney showed on that screen was extraordinary,” said Prof Stone. “We all thought it was impossible. 

    “I asked him how he created his foams and he said he used an ordinary kitchen mixer. The next day I went out and bought a kitchen mixer for the lab.”

    根據《科學》(Science)雜志5月30日發表的一份研究，如果給微小氣泡涂上一層糖分子的特殊混合物，它們可以持續超過一年的時間。這些微小氣泡可以影響食物和化妝品的口感、味感以及觸感。

    來自哈佛大學(Harvard University)和聯合利華(Unilever)的研究人員表示，他們的發現可以幫助許多包含微小氣泡的消費品（從冰淇淋到個人護膚品）延長保質期。

    這些氣泡很難長時期地保持穩定，因為它們會自然地吞食較小的氣泡，然后變大。研究人員用一層分子的不可溶解的外衣穩定了這些氣泡。這些分子由葡萄糖汁、硬脂酸鈉和水構成。

    這次合作始自一次會議，當時羅德尼•比(Rodney Bee)在會上展示穩定微氣泡的顯微鏡成像，而哈佛的霍華德•斯通(Howard Stone)參加了這次會議。羅德尼•比是聯合利華一位退休的化學家。“羅德尼在屏幕上所展示的太神奇了，”斯通表示，“我們都覺得這是可能的。”

    “我問他是如何創造出那些氣泡的，他說他用了一個普通的廚房攪拌器。第二天，我就出去買了一個供實驗室用的廚房攪拌器。”