The growing interest in biopolymer encapsulants offers a sustainable alternative to synthetic packaging, addressing concerns over plastic pollution and microplastic-related health risks while improving bioactive compound stability. However, poor moisture barrier properties, low mechanical strength, and high production costs hinder their large-scale applications. To address these challenges, chemical and physical functionalization techiques have been developed to enhance material performance, encapsulation efficiency, and the overall functionality of core materials in food applications. Chemical modifications, including cross-linking, grafting, Maillard reactions, phosphorylation, and carboxymethylation, alongside physical approaches such as blending, coating, and nanoparticle incorporation, have significantly improved material performance, stability, and controlled release of bioactives in food systems. Additionally, emerging tools such as machine learning show potential for optimising functionalization processes and predicting performance outcomes. Despite these advances, challenges related to scalability, regulatory compliance, and consumer acceptance persist. Overall, functionalized biopolymers present a promising pathway towards sustainable, high-performance food packaging and delivery systems.
PLGA-based encapsulation of bioactive plant extracts offers a strategy for improving their formulation characteristics and potentially modulating their biological responses. In this study, the medicinal plant Houttuynia cordata Thunb. (HC) was investigated through fraction-guided screening and nanoparticle delivery. Sequential solvent fractions were evaluated against HepG2 hepatocellular carcinoma cells using neutral red uptake and apoptosis assays. The most active acetone fraction (AceHCE) exhibited pronounced cytotoxicity and induced similar to 64.5% apoptosis. AceHCE was encapsulated into poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) stabilised with poloxamer 188. The optimised PNPs (similar to 91 nm) showed a narrow size distribution, negative surface charge, high entrapment efficiency (similar to 89%), and favourable physical stability. The nanoformulation exhibited a higher apparent IC50 (similar to 157 & micro;g mL-1 based on total PNP concentration), corresponding to an AceHCE-equivalent concentration of approximately 28.3 & micro;g mL-1. The optimised PNPs also exhibited antibacterial activity, with MIC values of 20 mg mL-1 against Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholerae.
Nanotechnology is considered a promising approach to enhance the functionality of phytobiotics, that promote animal health. This study aimed to fabricate iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe3O4) coated with alginate (SA)-chitosan (CS) for the delivery of sweet basil oil (SBO). Fe3O4-SBO-SA-CS was characterised in terms of its physicochemical properties, safety, in vitro release, and stability. Fe3O4-SBO was successfully modified with SA-CS polysaccharides, as evidenced by Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy. Thermal stability of SBO was enhanced by being incorporated into Fe3O4-SA-CS, whereas Fe3O4-SBO-SA-CS exhibited high antioxidant with broad-spectrum antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus. The release was 73.79% with a phenolic compound content of 82.85 mg GAE/g in simulated intestinal fluid. The Fe3O4-SBO-SA-CS effectively protected SBO activity under acid, bile salt and storage. Therefore, Fe3O4-SBO-SA-CS demonstrated the potential not only to protect and deliver SBO to the target site but also to support its safe application in animal nutrition.
This study investigates the adsorption of sodium diclofenac (SDF) onto Alginate/Pozzolan (Alg@PZ) microcapsules to address pharmaceutical contamination in aquatic systems. The Alg@PZ composite was synthesised via CaCl2 cross-linking by varying the Sodium Alginate (S-Alg)/Pozzolan (PZ) mass ratio from 0.625 to 3.25. Successful PZ incorporation into the S-Alg matrix was confirmed by FTIR, XRD and SEM analyses, revealing hydrogen and electrostatic bonding alongside a near-uniform spherical porous morphology of 1.73 mm diameter. TGA revealed optimal PZ encapsulation of 63.87% at a S-Alg/PZ ratio of 0.625, with high thermal stability. Adsorption experiments in a shallow-bed system demonstrated rapid SDF removal, best described by a PSO kinetic model reaching equilibrium after 45 minutes, with a qmax= 21.85 mg.g - 1. Thermodynamic analysis showed that the reaction was spontaneous and exothermic. However, Alg@PZ0.625 represents a scalable, eco-friendly and cost-effective alternative to conventional adsorbents for removing persistent pharmaceutical compounds from aqueous systems.
Curcumin and α-tocopherol (vitamin E) are lipophilic antioxidants limited by poor stability. To overcome this, both compounds were co-encapsulated in tannic acid-crosslinked gelatine-sodium alginate microcapsules via complex coacervation, comparing Ultra-Turrax (UT) and ultrasonication (US) homogenisation across core-to-wall ratios (1/1, 1/2, 1/3). Ultrasonication at a 1/3 ratio yielded the highest encapsulation efficiencies (94.3% curcumin, 91.0% vitamin E, vs. ∼41-44% untreated). These US microcapsules were smaller (227 nm), less porous (36.7%), and demonstrated progressive pH-dependent release over 72 h without an initial burst. Antioxidant activity was fully retained during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Overall, ultrasonication-assisted complex coacervation provides an effective route for developing robust gelatine-alginate delivery systems for food and pharmaceutical formulations.
