Encapsulation of bioactives within electrosprayed Kappa-carrageenan nanoparticles

Abstract

In this study, an electrospray synthesis approach was utilized in which a solution mixture of a sensitive bioactive agent, D-limonene (DL, R-(+)-Limonene), and a nature-inspired polymer, kappa-carrageenan (kappa C) was applied to design DL-kappa C nanoparticles (NPs) in a one step process. The engineered DL-kappa C NPs displayed spherical morphology and the maximum encapsulation efficiency of NPs was about 97 by altering the mass ratio of DL to kappa C. The developed DL-kappa C NPs showed a pH-dependent release manner in vitro. Both photostability and thermostability of DL were promoted by increasing the kappa C concentration, and >85 of the original DL could be preserved following 120 min of UV-light exposure in the NPs with 0.5 kappa C. The results demonstrated that electrosprayed kappa C NPs are promising candidates for the design of high-loading pH-sensitive NPs for encapsulation of highly sensitive bioactive agents.