Encapsulation of Β-Carotene by Emulsion Electrospraying Using Deep Eutectic Solvents

The main fields of operation for Metallurgical and Materials Engineering are production of engineering materials, defining and improving their features, as well as developing new materials to meet the expectations at every aspect of life and the users from these aspects. Founded in 2004 and graduated its 10th-semester alumni in 2018, our Department also obtained MÜDEK accreditation in the latter year. Offering the opportunity to hold an internationally valid diploma through the accreditation in question, our Department has highly qualified and experienced Academic Staff. Many of the courses offered at our Department are supported with various practice sessions, and internship studies in summer. This way, we help our students become better-equipped engineers for their future professional lives. With the Cooperative Education curriculum that entered into effect in 2019, students may volunteer to work at contracted companies for a period of six months with no extensions to their period of study.

Abstract

The encapsulation beta-carotene in whey protein concentrate (WPC) capsules through the emulsion electrospraying technique was studied, using deep eutectic solvents (DES) as solvents. These novel solvents are characterized by negligible volatility, a liquid state far below 0 degrees C, a broad range of polarity, high solubilization power strength for a wide range of compounds, especially poorly water-soluble compounds, high extraction ability, and high stabilization ability for some natural products. Four DES formulations were used, based on mixtures of choline chloride with water, propanediol, glucose, glycerol, or butanediol. beta-Carotene was successfully encapsulated in a solubilized form within WPC capsules; as a DES formulation with choline chloride and butanediol, the formulation produced capsules with the highest carotenoid loading capacity. SEM micrographs demonstrated that round and smooth capsules with sizes around 2 mu m were obtained. ATR-FTIR results showed the presence of DES in the WPC capsules, which indirectly anticipated the presence of beta-carotene in the WPC capsules. Stability against photo-oxidation studies confirmed the expected presence of the bioactive and revealed that solubilized beta-carotene loaded WPC capsules presented excellent photo-oxidation stability compared with free beta-carotene. The capsules developed here clearly show the significant potential of the combination of DES and electrospraying for the encapsulation and stabilization of highly insoluble bioactive compounds.

Description

Prieto, Cristina/0000-0002-0925-896X; LAGARON, Jose/0000-0002-0502-359X; DURAND, Erwann/0000-0002-0306-8081; Basar, Ahmet Ozan/0000-0001-5301-6944; Villeneuve, Pierre/0000-0003-1685-1494