Optimization and characterization of alginate/cinnamaldehyde electrosprayed microcapsule and its application to...

alginate is a good candidate for encapsulating bioactive compounds because the Na⁺ on its carboxyl groups can take part in an ion exchange process with Ca²⁺ to generate a calcium alginate shell. Electrospraying technology was used to prepare cinnamaldehyde (CA)-loaded alginate microcapsules. The generation of microcapsules with a minimal diameter could improve the mass transfer of encapsulated materials. The electrospraying parameters were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). The results indicated that lower alginate concentration led to microcapsules with smaller diameters. The interaction between the concentration of alginate and the needle size affecting the microcapsule diameter was more significant than other mutual interactions. The optimum conditions were an alginate concentration of 1.27 % (w/v), needle size of 24.62 G, flow rate of 2.29 mL/h, voltage of 12.98 kV, CaCl₂ concentration of 0.30 M, and distance of 11.01 cm. With a minimal diameter (155.34 μm), the obtained microcapsules displayed good encapsulation efficiency (86.00 ± 1.7 %) and loading capacity (45.00 ± 2.6 %), which had better preserving effects for Mongolian cheese. The study provided a reference for the production of the microcapsules with high antimicrobial effectiveness, exploring the new technological developments and applications of alginate.