INFORM February 2026

22 INFORM FEBRUARY 2026 , VOL. 37, NO. 2

HOW STEREOCHEMISTRY AFFECTS OLEOGEL AND EMULSION MOLECULAR SELF-ASSEMBLY

Pruthvi Kuruva, William Blodgett, Sai Sateesh Sagiri, and George John

We investigated two stereoisomeric sugar based oleogelators— mannitol dioctanoate and sorbitol dioctanoate—to understand the influence of stereochemistry on their self-assembly and emulsifying behavior. Our findings demonstrate that stereochemical differences significantly influence the structuring of vegetable oils and specific stereoisomer selection can be used to target functional properties when designing healthy foods and long-term storage applications.

Humans distinguish one stereoisomer from another because we have taste and scent receptors that differentiate between their stereochemistry. For example, R-(-)-carvone has a spearmint smell while S-(+)- carvone has a caraway seeds smell. R-(+)-limonene smells like oranges or citrus and

S-(-)-limonene has turpentine or pine scent. L-asparagine is tasteless, whereas D-asparagine is sweet. Stereochemistry refers to the three-dimensional (3D) arrangement of atoms within a molecule. Although stereoisomers have the same empirical formula and 2D structure, the difference in the