Biopolymers for the Nano-microencapsulation of Bioactive Ingredients by Electrohydrodynamic Processing

Electrohydrodynamic processing, including electrospinning and electrospraying, is an emerging technique for the encapsulation of bioactive ingredients (e.g. omega-3, vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics) with interest for the functional food industry. This chapter presents the fundamentals of electrohydrodynamic processes for the production of nano-microstructures (fibers or capsules) loaded with bioactive compounds. Particularly, it focuses on the properties as well as electrospinning and electrospray processing of food-grade polymers. The physicochemical characteristics of the resulting nano-microencapsulates will also be discussed. Electrospun and electrospray food-grade polymers include biopolymers such as proteins (e.g. zein, gelatin, whey, casein, amaranth, soy, egg and fish protein) and polysaccharides (e.g. pullulan, dextran, chitosan, starch, alginate, cellulose, cyclodextrin, xanthan gum), as well as blends of biopolymers with biocompatible synthetic polymers (e.g. poly-vinyl alcohol).