Education

• Post-Doc. Bioresource and Food Engineering, University of Alberta, Canada
• Post-Doc. Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Canada
• Ph.D. Food Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Turkey
• M.S. Food Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Turkey
• B.S. Food Engineering, University of Gaziantep, Turkey

Research Interests

The goal of the research in the Ciftci Lab is the green processing of lipids to produce novel food products with improved function and efficacy. Specific research areas include:

• Particle Formation: Development of green technologies based on supercritical fluid technology to manufacture novel micro- and nanoparticles of bioactive compounds and lipids for improved bioavailability, functionality, and stability.
• Green Extraction: Extraction of bioactive compounds and lipids from various feedstcoks, including by-products/wastes of agri-food industry, using green methods based on supercritical carbon dioxide and subcritical water.
• Biorefining: Development of a green biorefinery based on supercritical fluid technology for value-added processing of renewable feedstocks to develop integrated extraction, fractionation, reaction, and particle formation of lipids and nutraceuticals as well as investigating the fundamentals.
• Biocatalytic Conversions: Enzymatic production of structured lipids and industrial products in supercritical fluids.
• 3D Food Printing: Development of personalized foods via 3D food printing

Selected Publications

• Faucher, M., Thibodeau, J., Ciftci, O. N., Gaaloul, S., and Bazinet, L. (2022). Phospholipid recovery from sweet whey by combination of electrodialytic processes and understanding of specific mechanisms involved. Chemical Engineering Journal, In press.
• Alavi, F., and Ciftci, O. N. (2022). Developing dual nano/macroporous starch bioaerogels via emulsion templating and supercritical carbon dioxide drying. Carbohydrate Polymers, In press.
• Ubeyitogullari, A., and Ciftci, O. N. (2022). Enhancing the bioaccessibility of lycopene from tomato processing byproducts via supercritical carbon dioxide extraction. Current Research in Food Science, 5, 553-563.
• Sperotto, F., Yang, J., Isom, L., Weller, C., and Ciftci, O. N. (2022). Supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, purification, and characterization of wax from sorghum and sorghum by-products as an alternative natural wax. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 1-9.
• Dias, A. L. S., Ubeyitogullari, A., Hatami, T., Martínez, J., and Ciftci, O. N. (2021). Continuous production of isoamyl acetate from fusel oil under supercritical CO2: A mass transfer approach. Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 176, 23-33.
• Faucher, M., Perreault, V., Ciftci, O. N., Gaaloul, S., and Bazinet, L. (2021). Phospholipid recovery from sweet whey and whey protein concentrate: Use of electrodialysis with bipolar membrane combined with a dilution factor as an ecoefficient method. Future Foods, 4, 100052.
• Nolasco, E., Yang, J., Ciftci, O., Vu, D. C., Alvarez, S., Purdum, S., and Majumder, K. (2021). Evaluating the effect of cooking and gastrointestinal digestion in modulating the bio-accessibility of different bioactive compounds of eggs. Food Chemistry, 344, 128623.
• Liu, L., and Ciftci, O. N. (2021). Effects of high oil compositions and printing parameters on food paste properties and printability in a 3D printing food processing model. Journal of Food Engineering, 288, 110135.
• Yang, J., and Ciftci, O. N. (2020). In vitro bioaccessibility of fish oil-loaded hollow solid lipid micro- and nanoparticles. Food & Function, 11, 8637-8647.
• Xie, L., Ciftci, O., and Zhang, Y. (2020). Encapsulation of astaxanthin-enriched camelina oil extract in ovalbumin/gum arabic stabilized emulsion with/without crosslinking by tannic acid. ES Food & Agroforestry, 1, 77-48.
• Baião Dias, A. L., Hatami, T., Martínez, J., and Ciftci, O. N. (2020). Biocatalytic production of isoamyl acetate from fusel oil in supercritical CO2. Journal of Supercritical Fluids, 164, 104917.
• Naz, S., Shabbir, M. A., Aadil, R. M., Khan, M. R., Ciftci, O. N., Sameen A., Yasmin, I., Hayee, A., and Maqsood, M. (2020). Effect of polymer and polymer blends on encapsulation efficiency of spray-dried microencapsulated flaxseed oil. International Food Research Journal, 27, 78-87.
• Ubeyitogullari, A., and Ciftci, O. N. (2020). Fabrication of bioaerogels from camelina seed mucilage for food applications. Food Hydrocolloids, 102, 105597.
• Konda, A. R., Nazarenus, T., Nguyen, H., Yang, J., Gelli, M., Swenson, S., Shipp, J., Schmidt, M., Cahoon, R., Ciftci, O., Zhang, C., Clemente, T., and Cahoon, E. (2020). Metabolic engineering of soybean seeds for enhanced vitamin E tocochromanol content and effects on oil antioxidant properties in polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich germplasm. Metabolic Engineering, 57, 63-73.
• Yang, J., and Ciftci, O. N. (2020). Effect of chemical structure of solid lipid matrix on its melting behavior and volumetric expansion in pressurized carbon dioxide. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 97, 105-113.
• Liu, L., Ramirez. I. S. A., Yang, J., and Ciftci, O. N. (2020). Evaluation of oil-gelling properties and crystallization behavior of sorghum wax in fish oil. Food Chemistry, 309, 125567.
• Ubeyitogullari, A., and Ciftci, O. N. (2019). A novel and green nanoparticle formation approach to forming low-crystallinity curcumin nanoparticles to improve curcumin’s bioaccessibility. Scientific Reports, 9, 19112.
• Ubeyitogullari, A., Moreau, R., Rose, D., and Ciftci, O. N. (2019). In vitro bioaccessibility of low-crystallinity phytosterol nanoparticles generated using nanoporous starch bioaerogels. Journal of Food Science, 84, 1812-1819.