Improved digestive stability of probiotics encapsulated within poly(vinyl alcohol)/cellulose acetate hybrid fibers

Novel cellulose acetate (CA) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hybrid fibers, fabricated via angled dual-nozzle electrospinning, were used for the encapsulation of probiotics to enhance their gastrointestinal stability. In this study, Escherichia coli strain Nissle 1917 (EcN) cells were encapsulated within PVA/CA composite mats, where CA enhanced the bacterial stability under gastric conditions and PVA provided protection against the toxic solvent during the electrospinning process. Scanning electron microscopy images revealed that EcN was successfully encapsulated within the hybrid fibers. In the simulated digestive system, free cells lost their viability within 100 min, whereas PVA/CA-encapsulated cells survived with a final count of 3.9 log CFU/mL (from an initial count of 7.8 log CFU/mL), an increase of 1 log CFU/mL compared with those in PVA/PVA fibers. Considering the enhanced viability of the encapsulated cells in the gastrointestinal system, multi-nozzle electrospinning is a promising technique for the fabrication of novel matrices for probiotic encapsulation.