Preparation and Characterization of Carvacrol-Loaded Caseinate/Zein-Composite Nanoparticles Using the Anti-Solvent Precipitation Method

Abstract

Extending shelf life and maintaining the high quality of food are arduous challenges. In this study, the self-assembly properties of zein were used to load carvacrol essential oil, and then sodium caseinate was selected as a stabilizer to fabricate carvacrol-loaded composite nanoparticles. The results showed that the composite nanoparticles had a high encapsulation efficiency for carvacrol (71.52%–80.09%). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the carvacrol-loaded composite nanoparticles were spherical and uniformly distributed, with particle sizes ranging from 80 to 220 nm. First and foremost, the carvacrol-loaded nanoparticles exhibited excellent water-redispersibility, storage-stability, and antioxidant properties, as well as antibacterial properties against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Benefiting from the antimicrobial and antioxidative abilities, the films with carvacrol-loaded composite nanoparticles effectively inhibited food spoilage and prolonged the shelf-life of cherry tomatoes and bananas. Therefore, carvacrol-loaded composite nanoparticles may have potential application prospects in the food industry.

Fabrication, Characterization, and Antimicrobial Activity of Carvacrol-Loaded Zein Nanoparticles Using the pH-Driven Method

“…Compared with our published studies [ 34 ], the composite NPs prepared in this study have better structure and performance. Published studies have used the antisolvent precipitation method to prepare CA-loaded composite NPs.…”

Reactive oxygen species induced by plant essential oil for effective degradation of p-phenylenediamine

“…It was found that the smaller the average particle size of the emulsion, the larger the specific surface area, 18 and the smaller the PDI, the more uniform the particle size distribution. 19 Hence, the minimum average particle size and minimum PDI were set as constraints. The optimal formulation of SE-OPEO was determined to be OPEO/Triton X-100/ IPA (10/52.5/37.5, w/w/w), and the average particle size and PDI were predicted to be 12.10 nm and 0.192, respectively.…”

Measurement and Model Evaluation of Solubility of 2-(4-tert-Butylphenyl)-5-(4-biphenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole in Different Organic Solvents at Various Temperatures

“…According to the Ostwald–Freundlich equation, decreasing the particle size of organic materials further to the nanorange has exhibited higher solubility in poor solvents, − enabling the applications of high-performance small molecules as ink materials for printing processes in optoelectronic devices. The solubility of materials in various solvents serves as the basis for the solvent–antisolvent method, which is the most straightforward and commonly used approach for preparing nanoparticles. − …”