Protein-based nanodelivery systems for food applications

Food-derived proteins are considered ideal materials for the development of encapsulation and delivery system for bioactive ingredients due to their biophysicochemical properties. The size of the protein-delivery systems in the intestinal media is critical in ensuring effective biophysicochemical characteristics such as biorecognition, biocompatibility, bioavailability, bioadhesion and stability. As such, it is important to understand the nature, process and characteristics of different nanoformulations produced with food-derived proteins, together with their drawbacks in food, pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Current techniques used in the design of protein-based nanodelivery system include nanoemulsificaiton, coacervation, antisolvent precipitation, electrospraying and electrospinning. Brief descriptions of these techniques are presented in this paper, as well as some key characteristics of the resulting nanoparticles. The drawback of individual techniques is also discussed for the consideration of food scientists and biotechnologists who design nanodelivery systems for bioactive ingredients