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Orange peel oil is one of the most common flavorings used in the food industry which is volatile under environmental conditions. Encapsulation is the best way to protect it and control its release. One of the nanoencapsulation systems for food bioactive ingredients is complexation method, which entraps the core materials in a complex of two different biopolymers. In this study, orange peel oil was nanoencapsulated by pectin-whey protein nanocomplexes. After determining the optimum nanocomplex suspensions containing orange peel oil based on the stability, viscosity, and color, they were formulated in three different pH values (3, 6 and 9) and converted into powdered forms by freeze drying. The analysis of size and zeta potential of nanocomplexes revealed that the smallest particles formed in pH=6. The encapsulation efficiency of the powders at pH=3, 6 and 9 were 88, 84, and 70%, respectively and there was a reverse linear correlation between encapsulation efficiency and the color index (b*). The microstructure and the morphology of the nanocomplex powders was investigated by SEM and AFM and the results showed that more spherical particles are formed in pH=3. FTIR analysis determined that there was a chemical reaction and bond formation between whey proteins and pectin as a sharp band was appeared in 991cm-1.

Nowadays, cancer is one of the most prominent issues related to human health since it causes more than one-tenth of death cases throughout the world. On the other hand, routine therapeutic approaches in cancer suppression such as radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, etc. due to their undesirable therapeutic outputs, including low efficiency in cancer inhibition, non-targeted drug delivery, nonselective distribution, and enormous side effects, have been indicated inefficient potency in cancer therapy or at least its growth inhibition. As a result, the development of novel and practical therapeutic methods such as nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems can be outstandingly beneficial in cancer suppression. Among various nanoparticles used in the delivery of bioactive to the tumor site, chitosan (CS) nanoparticles have received high attention. CS, poly [β-(1-4)-linked-2-amino-2-deoxy-d-glucose], is a natural linear amino polysaccharide derived from chitin which is made of irregularly distributed d-glucosamine and N-acetyl-d-glucosamine units. CS nanoparticles owing to their appropriate aspects, including nanometric size, great drug loading efficacy, ease of manipulation, non-toxicity, excellent availability and biocompatibility, good serum stability, long-term circulation time, suitable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics, non-immunogenicity, and enhanced drug solubility in the human body, have been designated as an efficient candidate for drug delivery systems. They can be involved in both passive (based on the enhanced permeability and retention effect cancer targeting) and active (receptor-mediated or stimuli-responsive cancer targeting) drug delivery systems for potential cancer therapy. This review presents the properties, preparation, modification, and numerous pharmaceutical applications of CS-based drug nanodelivery systems in the diagnosis and therapy of cancer.

Protein–polysaccharide complexes often exhibit amended techno-functional characteristics when compared to their individual participant biomolecules. In this study, a complex coacervation of cress seed mucilage (CSM)/β-lactoglobulin (Blg) was used for stabilizing oil-in-water emulsions; they were characterized in terms of physical properties, droplet-size distribution and microstructure. Also, a comprehensive study was carried out on interfacial rheological responses and on the corresponding emulsion stability of different complexes. Freeze-thaw stability of the produced emulsions which had from mixtures of CSM-Blg was also evaluated. More than the size of droplets, interfacial rheological characteristics were associated with the properties of the adsorbed layers and with the stability of emulsions in storage. Using the CSM-Blg-Ca ultimately resulted in emulsions that proved stable against creaming, with no sign of phase separation over 3 weeks. These results show protein–polysaccharide complexes as appropriate emulsifiers that can make emulsion-based products resistant to unwanted changes caused by freeze-thawing.

Vitamin D3 (VD3) as an essential lipid-soluble active ingredient with numerous applications in food and pharmaceutical sectors; however, poor water solubility reduces its bioavailability significantly. Application of protein-polysaccharide complexes as a promising way to protect and trigger programmed release of bioactive molecules has established an optimal window in nutraceutical delivery systems. In this study, complexes of β-lactoglobulin (Blg) and cress seed mucilage (CSM) were used to retain VD3 at undesirable circumstances, such as acidic pH values. The interaction of CSM-Blg was studied by rheological tests and the best formulation was chosen for encapsulation of VD3 via crosslinking with calcium ions (2-10 mM). The results demonstrated that complexation protect VD3 at low pH values with the maximum encapsulation efficiency of 84.2 %. The in vitro study indicated that Blg-CSM-VD3 was more stable in simulated gastric fluid, and in turn VD3 was released in simulated intestinal fluid; the complexes treated with calcium ions had a slower release rate than normal complexes. The release trend of VD3 followed the diffusion-Fickian law and the principal interactions included hydrophobic, electrostatic and hydrogen bonding. The results indicated that Blg-CSM complexes can retain VD3 at acidic environment and induce sustained release, which brings about practical advantages for vitamin delivery in the food and pharmaceutical sectors.

In this study, Response Surface Methodology was used to optimize the electrospinning process parameters including voltage, distance, and flow rate in order to obtain catechin-loaded electrospun nanofibers from Azivash (Corchorus olitorius. L) gum-polyvinyl alcohol with the minimum diameter of nanofibers. The optimum electrospinning conditions were applied for catechin encapsulation at different loading concentrations (500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 mg L−1). According to the results, increase in catechin concentration led to increment in polymer solution viscosity. However, electrical conductivity decreased and mean diameter of nanofibers increased from 89 nm to 371 nm. There was a robust interaction between the catechin and polymer matrix; also addition of catechin improved thermal stability of nanofibers. In general, at higher catechin levels, despite increasing loading capacity, encapsulation efficiency was significantly reduced (p

Chitosan-nanocellulose biocomposites were prepared from chitosan having molecular weight of 600-800 kDa, nanocellulose with 20-50 nm diameters and various levels of 30, 60 and 90% (v/wCHT) for glycerol. Agitation and sonication were used to facilitate even dispersion of particles in the polymer matrix. The nanocomposites were examined by differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction and agar disc diffusion tests; finally, the film was applied on the surface of ground meat to evaluate its performance in real terms. Chitosan-nanocellulose nanocomposites showed high Tg range of 115-124°C and were able to keep their solid state until the temperature (Tm) range of 97-99°C. XRD photographs revealed that nanocellulose peak completely disappeared after their addition to chitosan context. Agar disc diffusion method proved that the nancomposite had inhibitory effects against both gram-positive (S. aureus) and gram-negative (E. coli and S. enteritidis) bacteria through its contact area. Application of chitosan-nanocellulose nanocomposite on the ground meat decreased lactic acid bacteria population compared with nylon packaged samples up to 1.3 and 3.1 logarithmic cycles at 3 and 25°C after 6 days of storage, respectively.

Chitosan (CHT) is a biodegradable compound and has excellent performance in forming films; on the other hand, nanocellulose (NCL) crystals have low densities and are less expensive than other nanofillers. A novel and simple method was applied to develop CHT–NCL nanocomposite (NCP) from CHT powder of high molecular weight and NCL particles having two dimensions in nanoscale; a rotor stator and an ultrasound device were used to separate different nanolayers from each other and facilitate their dispersion into polymer matrix. The optimized NCP indicated superior mechanical properties compared with some synthetic films; approximate values of 47% elongation-at-break, 245 MPa tensile strength and 4430 MPa Young's modulus were achieved. Water vapour permeability (WVP) value of the NCP was at optimal level of 0.23 × 10−11 (g/m s Pa) which was much less than the most biofilms’ WVP values. FESEM analyses revealed that high concentrations of CHT and NCL composed inter-connected structures justifying high elongation capability of CHT–NCL NCP.

In this research, encapsulation efficiency of cress seed gum (CSG) as a native hydrocolloid was compared with Arabic gum (AG) and maltodextrin (dextrose equivalent of 20 (M20), and 7 (M7)) for saffron (Crocus sativus) petal's extract by freeze drying method. Combinations of CSG-M20, AG-M20, and M7-M20 with ratios of 50:50 and M20 alone (100%) were used as wall materials. A mixture of 1:5 (based on dry matter) between core (concentrated anthocyanin extract of saffron petal) and wall materials were freeze dried and stability of encapsulated anthocyanins along with color parameters (a*, b*, L*, C, H° and TCD) of final powders were measured during 10 weeks of storage (at 35°C as an accelerated method). Total anthocyanins were determined through pH differential method every week. Four prepared formulations of encapsulated powders didn't show any significant differences (P>0.01) in terms of total anthocyanin content measured immediately after production and after 10 weeks storage. AG-M20 mixture and M20 alone showed the highest and lowest TCD, respectively. The mixture of CSG-M20 in comparison with AG-M20 and M20 had the same protecting effect (P

Different ratios of whey protein concentrate (WPC):pullulan (PUL) (70:30, 50:50, 30:70%w/w) and various rates of beeswax (BW) (0, 10, 20, and 30%w/w glycerol ) were applied to prepare biodegradable WPC–PUL films containing glycerol as a plasticizer, for the first time. Thickness, moisture content, water solubility, water vapour permeability, colour, and mechanical properties of prepared films were measured. Higher ratios of WPC:PUL led to more desirable physical and mechanical properties; in other words, lower rates of thickness, moisture content, water solubility and water vapour permeability, and higher elongations were achieved. Application of BW (especially in higher contents) could successfully improve colour indices, diminish water solubility (nearly 12%) and water vapour permeability (approximately 3 × 10 −11 g m −1 s −1 Pa −1 ), and increase tensile strength (by about 7 MPa) of WPC–PUL blend films. Our edible films enjoyed great whiteness and ignorable yellowness indices, making it a suitable alternative for application in food products. Overall, WPC70-PUL30 containing 30% BW resulted in the best performance of physical and mechanical aspects as an optimum film.

This paper focuses on the development of an effective methodology to determine the optimum levels of independent variables leading to maximize stability of O/W emulsions containing Arabic gum, as a natural emulsifier and stabilizer. Response surface methodology (RSM) was employed to determine the effect of Arabic gum content (2%, 5%, and 8% (w/w)), homogenization time (5, 12.5, and 20 min) and storage temperature (4, 22, and 40 °C). Image processing was used to determine emulsion stability based on responses including creaming index, centrifugal stability, viscosity, color parameters, and D32 and D43 indices. For each response, a second-order polynomial model with high coefficient of determination (R2) values ranging from 0.95 to 0.989 was developed using multiple linear regression analysis. The optimization results showed that the overall optimum region with the highest stability was found to be at the combined levels of 5.81% (w/w) Arabic gum content, 5 min homogenization time, and 22 °C for storage temperature.

In this work, anthocyanin stability and color of encapsulated freeze-dried saffron petal's extract with various matrices consisting gum Arabic (AG) and maltodextrin (M7 and M20) were studied. Total anthocyanins of powders and color parameters (a*, b*, L*, C, H° and TCD) were measured immediately after production and during storage up to 10 weeks by pH differential method and computer vision, respectively. Different compounds of wall materials did not show any significant differences in terms of stabilizing anthocyanins (P0.01) and no significant decrease in anthocyanin content of the powders was observed after storage. The efficiency order of wall materials considering total color differences (TCD) was AGM20M7. By evaluating 3D surface and Cox trace plots it was revealed that wall formulas which had the lowest amount of AG and highest amounts of M20 and M7 showed the lowest total color differences after storage (P0.05). To conclude, microencapsulation by freeze drying could be recommended as a suitable method for stabilizing anthocyanins of saffron petal's extract.

Biodegradable edible films based on soluble soybean polysaccharide (SSPS), a new film-forming material, and three levels of glycerol (20%, 30% and 40%, w/w) as plasticizer, were developed and evaluated in terms of physical, mechanical, barrier and optical properties as well as their microstructure. SSPS-based films with a concentration of 20% glycerol possessed the lowest water vapor permeability. Increasing the glycerol content increased (P