Towards translation of Vortex Fluidic Device mediated functional food and nutraceutical production from lab to industrial scale

The Vortex Fluidic Device (VFD) microfluidic platform offers a novel approach for sustainable food and nutraceutical processing. This study evaluated the scale-up of VFD-mediated processes using an up-sized VFD for two representative applications: algae oil encapsulation and enzymatic hydrolysis of fish gelatin for 3D food printing. Compared with conventional homogenisation, VFD processing reduced the average droplet size from ∼2.3 μm to ∼255 nm, and improved emulsion stability from 10.4 ± 1.3% to 55.4 ± 3.2% after 72 h storage. In gelatin hydrolysis, the standard VFD decreased reaction time from 120 min to 20 min while increasing the degree of hydrolysis from 55.0% to 74.5%. Scale-up trials using the up-sized VFD (1000–3000 rpm) achieved comparable performance to the standard VFD (8000 rpm), supported by equivalent tip speeds (e.g., 7.1 m·s -1 at 3000 rpm for up-sized VFD vs. 7.0 m·s -1 at 8000 rpm for standard). On scale-up, the droplet size was slightly reduced and the porosity of the gelatin hydrolysates was more than doubled. Furthermore, high fidelity and shape retention were maintained across all VFD systems when 3D printing inks containing 40% fish gelatin hydrolysates were used. These results demonstrate the scalability, robustness, and industrial potential of VFD technology beyond the standard VFD, offering enhanced stability, efficiency, and product quality relative to conventional methods. In food and nutraceutical production, such scalability facilitates reduces energy input, improves batch-to-batch consistency, and enhances product quality (e.g., uniform droplet size, higher porosity, and improved hydrolysis efficiency). • VFD achieves 5× emulsion stability boost (55.4% vs 10.4%) with 90% smaller droplets (255 nm vs 2.3 μm). • Enzymatic hydrolysis time slashed 83% (120→20 min) while raising yield to 74.5%. • Industrial VFD maintains 3D print fidelity at 1/3 RPM via tip-speed equivalence (7.1 m/s).