Crucial to Chile’s innovation landscape, the Fund for the Promotion of Scientific and Technological Development (Fondef) finances applied research, technological development, and innovation in strategic economic sectors. It actively promotes collaboration among academia, business, and government. In the highly competitive 2025 Fondef competition, Dr. Andrea Mahn Osses’s project stood out and received an award.
The project aims to validate the microencapsulation of sulforaphane, creating a functional ingredient with proven efficacy for the food industry.
Sulforaphane, an isothiocyanate, is the primary compound responsible for the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and kale.
Dr. Mahn’s project represents the culmination of a research line initiated in 2019. Since then, the microencapsulation concept has been developed alongside master’s and PhD students Víctor Zambrano and Yipsy Arozarena.
“When we started, we realized sulforaphane hadn’t been stabilized in a food-grade system that preserved its efficacy,” Dr. Mahn recalled. “Now, after years of dedicated research, we have achieved these microcapsules and are advancing to small-scale production.”
Through Yipsy Arozarena’s thesis, the microencapsulation’s application in dairy products, specifically yogurt, was validated. The current Fondef project aims to scale this validation to a semi-productive level.
“To achieve this, we’ve partnered with two key companies,” stated Dr. Mahn. “Our supplier will be a Uruguayan pharmaceutical company that produces sulforaphane extract. This partnership is particularly exciting as their extract has shown proven effectiveness in autism, making the pharmaceutical aspect of this project highly feasible.”
She continued, “The second partner is a spin-off from the University of Concepción, specializing in validating functional foods. What’s compelling here is that their validation process avoids animal testing, relying on alternative analyses for these applications.”
A patent has already been filed for this technology, providing the team with security and the potential to exploit it through a future spin-off or by licensing it to a large company, thereby enabling access to larger funding.
Expected Results
This two-year Fondef grant is the initial phase, focused on achieving scaling up as its main milestone. Continuation is contingent on reaching specific intermediate results.
The project also aims to establish strategic collaborations and alliances for its business model and technology transfer. Further anticipated outcomes involve filing an international patent, formalizing supplier contracts, producing research publications, and developing advanced human capital through doctoral student training.
Alongside project director Dr. Mahn, the team includes Dr. Fernando Ortiz (Faculty of Chemistry and Biology, expert in neurodegenerative diseases), Dr. Rubén Bustos (Department of Chemical Engineering and Bioprocesses, expert in microencapsulation), Yipsy Arozarena, and alternate director Dr. Julián Quintero.
Dr. Mahn highlights the team’s extensive publications on the subject, noting they are the sole group publishing on sulforaphane microencapsulation in Web of Science (WOS). “We’ve made significant patent progress, giving us a clear understanding of the state-of-the-art. Our scientific development is advanced, and we’re now well into technological development, with commercialization as our next goal,” she stated. “This project is highly promising, demonstrating how our research line can evolve from fundamental inquiry through technological advancement to full-scale commercialization. A crucial aspect of our project is also its commitment to gender parity.”
The awarding of this Fondef project underscores the Faculty of Engineering (FING) and the University of Santiago’s commitment to advancing Chile’s technological and industrial development. These recent awards highlight the Faculty’s significant progress in scaling up technologies for the industrial, social, and public sectors.