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Updated: Jul 22, 2025
Preparation and Characterization of Nanoliposomes for the Entrapment of Bioactive Hydrophilic Globular Proteins
Published on: August 31, 2019
Preparation of enzymatically cross-linked α-lactalbumin nanoparticles and their application for encapsulating
Siqi Guo1, Qing Guo2, Yifan Zhang3
1College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China; College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100083, China.
Abstract:
High internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) stabilized by protein nanoparticles have been widely reported, but the use of enzymatic methods for preparing these nanoparticles remains underexplored. Our hypothesis is that enzymatically crosslinked α-lactalbumin (ALA) nanoparticles (ALATGs) prepared using transglutaminase will demonstrate improved properties as stabilizers for HIPPEs. In this study, we investigated the physicochemical properties and microstructures of ALATGs, finding that enzymatic crosslinking could be enhanced by removing Ca2+ ions from ALA and preheating the proteins (85 °C, 15 min). The electrical charge, secondary structure, and surface hydrophobicity of ALATGs were found to depend on crosslinking conditions. HIPPEs formed with an ALA concentration of 10 mg/mL and an enzyme activity of 120 U/g exhibited the highest apparent viscosity and mechanical strength, as well as significantly improved loading capacity and photostability for the encapsulated lycopene. Overall, our results support the hypothesis that ALATG-nanoparticles show superior performance as emulsifiers compared to ALA-nanoparticles.
