Spotlight on Guanghui Li, 2021 AOCS Honored Student

The Honored Student Award, Sponsored by the AOCS Foundation, encourages and recognizes graduate students doing excellent research. This spotlight will introduce you to Guanghui Li, Graduate Student at Jinan University in China. One of the 2021 Honored Students. 

My name is Guanghui Li, a doctorate candidate in Food Science at Jinan University,  I have  many achievements on lipid research including the publication of 11 papers (3 in Chinese journals) and application for a Chinese patent (Patent No: 201710568244.3).  I am good at analyzing the measured data via SPSS software and Origin 8.5 software version. I took part in 2017 AOCS Annual Meeting and Industry Showcases (Orlando, USA) and shared a research poster on Enzymatic Application for Manufacture of EPA-and-DHA-Enriched Triglycride Fish Oil. I have also served as a exchange student working on a research project studying novel MLCD-based emulsion at Ryerson University in Canada.

Can you tell us about your current research?

Previous study showed that Pickering emulsions behave as penetration enhancers. The skin permeation of an active compound loaded inside the droplets of a Pickering emulsion was faster than for emulsifier-based emulsions or homogeneous solutions. Our hypothesis is that chitosan-MLCD based O/W Pickering emulsions can improve stability of ferulic acid and provide a theoretical basis of effective delivery and transdermal absorption of actives using biomass particle stabilized Pickering emulsion in  biomedical and cosmetic applications. My current research is focused on preparation of chitosan-based O/W Pickering emulsion to encapsulate ferulic acid. The stability, particle size, zeta potential, and microstructure of chitosan-MLCD particles and emulsions will be characterized via sedimentation, particle size analyzer as well as microscopy. The antioxidant properties and whitening effect of ferulic acid loaded inside the Pickering emulsion will be determined by NIH 3T3 cell and melanoma cells in vitro. The permeation efficiency of ferulic acid encapsulated inside Pickering emulsion through skin will be investigated via Franz Cell Diffusion in vitro. 

What was your reaction when you learned you had won the award?

I was very excited and happy when I knew that I had got this award. I clearly remembered that I woke up at 4:35 p.m. Beijing time and checked my email. After knowing this result, I was too excited to fall asleep for a long time. I immediately shared this honor with my relatives, and everyone was very happy.

How has AOCS helped develop your career?

The AOCS has helped me to attain advanced knowledge, insights, and inspiration in lipid chemistry and lipid nutrition, which is a great benefit for my graduate studies. Moreover, AOCS offers a series of online and in-person opportunities for learning, connection and collaboration, which will strongly develop and guide my future career in lipid research.

Meet our honored student and learn about his research

Guanghui Li will be presenting a paper on stabilization mechanism of water-in-oil emulsions by medium- and long-chain diacylglycerol: Post-crystallization vs. pre-crystallization at the AOCS Annual Meeting & Expo, May 3-14, 2021.