A heat-stable microparticle platform for oral micronutrient delivery

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nutritional Science
• Public Health

Background:

• Micronutrient deficiencies impact 2 billion globally, causing developmental disorders.
• Current food fortification methods face stability challenges during cooking and storage.
• Polymer encapsulation offers a potential solution for stable and absorbable micronutrient delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a polymer-based encapsulation system for enhanced micronutrient stability and bioavailability.
• To assess the safety, stability, and absorption of encapsulated micronutrients.
• To optimize the encapsulation process for large-scale production and clinical translation.

Main Methods:

• Identified and synthesized poly(butylmethacrylate-co-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)methacrylate-co-methylmethacrylate) (BMC) for encapsulation.
• Encapsulated 11 individual micronutrients and co-encapsulated up to 4.
• Tested stability against heat, light, moisture, and oxidation.
• Conducted rodent and human studies to assess release, absorption, and bioavailability.
• Utilized organotypic human intestinal models for absorption optimization.
• Employed process development for kilogram-scale synthesis.

Main Results:

• BMC demonstrated stability in boiling water and rapid dissolution in gastric acid.
• Encapsulation significantly improved micronutrient stability.
• Initial human studies showed lower iron bioavailability, which was improved through process optimization.
• Optimized iron-loaded microparticles achieved up to 89% relative bioavailability in human studies.
• Demonstrated successful kilogram-scale synthesis of the encapsulation material.

Conclusions:

• Developed a heat-stable, ingestible micronutrient delivery platform using polymer encapsulation.
• Optimized encapsulation significantly enhances iron bioavailability, addressing a key limitation.
• This platform has the potential to combat micronutrient deficiencies globally.
• The approach may be applicable to other materials and micronutrients for oral delivery.