Edible cellulose-based colorimetric timer.
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A biocompatible and edible colorimetric timer is obtained by exploiting the dynamic colour changes of the cholesteric liquid crystalline mesophases of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) in aqueous suspensions. The edible timer is encapsulated between semi permeable membranes made of shellac. The cholesteric organisation of the HPC provides vibrant colouration, while the shellac layers allow tuning of the evaporation rate of water from the mesophase, which results in a colour change. Due to the biocompatibility of the components and the direct read-out of the system, i.e. the colour change can be visually detected, and the developed timer can be implemented as a colorimetric sensor with potential to be used in food packaging, and as a smart labelling system.
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Acknowledgements: The authors thank Dr Bruno Frka-Petesic for the useful discussions and Miss Hongning Ren for preparing the HPC-shellac constructs for the SEM analysis. This work was supported by a BBSRC David Phillips fellowship [BB/K014617/1] awarded to SV and GK, the European Research Council [ERC-2014-STG H2020 639088] funding awarded to SV and AGD, bp-ICAM Kathleen Lonsdale Research Fellowship awarded to AGD, Royal Society Research Grant [RGS\R2\202434] awarded to AGD and The Isaac Newton Trust Cambridge 76933 funding awarded to SV and GK.
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