INFORM February 2026

STRUCTURED FATS INFORM 23

a)

D-(+)-Mannitol (M)

Mannitol dioctanoate (M8)

Fatty acid vinyl ester

D-(+)-Sorbitol (M)

Sorbitol dioctanoate (S8)

Lipase

b)

≈

M8 self-assembly: Intermolecular H-bonding

S8 self-assembly: Inter- and Intramolecular H-bonding

a) Reaction schemes for the synthesis of mannitol dioctanoate (M8) and sorbitol dioctanoate (S8) b) Possible self-assembly arrange ments of M8 and S8 in their corresponding oleogels. Source: John Lab

3D arrangement of the atoms drastically alters the molecular properties. Beyond influencing sensory properties, stereochemistry governs the self-assembly of stereoisomers, giving rise to distinct packing arrangements, morphologies, and macroscopic properties. Therefore, it is important to understand the self-assembly of stereoisomers, specifically related to oleogels and emulsions, which are very common in food industry.

We have investigated these aspects using sugar-based stereoisomeric gelators. In this work, we used two naturally abundant open chain stereoisomeric sugar alcohols, mannitol and sorbitol. Mannitol is commonly found in fruits such as apples, pears, and peaches. Whereas, sorbitol is commonly found in vegetables like carrots, olives, and pumpkins. The two sugar alcohols are stereoisomers to each other, having a difference in the hydroxyl group orientation on the second carbon. This subtle

stereochemical variation leads to striking differences in their physicochemical properties. Mannitol exhibits a melting point of 166-168 °C and water solubility around 18 g/100 mL, while sorbitol melts at 96 100 °C and dissolves in water at 235 g/100 mL. We used an eco-friendly approach to modify these stereoisomers by performing a simple one step transesterification reaction with Novozyme 435 as a catalyst. We successfully synthesized two stereoisomeric oleogelators: