Design strategies of lipid nanovehicles for controlled functional component release in food systems

The oral bioavailability of food bioactives is often limited by poor stability, poor solubility, and limited control over release, restricting their use in functional foods. Lipid nanovehicles (LNVs) present a promising strategy to overcome these limitations. However, their application in real food products is challenged by processing instability, variable digestive behavior, and insufficient matrix-specific validation. Addressing these barriers requires a systematic understanding of how LNV design influences performance in complex food matrices. This review therefore establishes a structure-guided design framework linking LNV composition, interfacial architecture, gastrointestinal fate, and compatibility with food matrices. Current evidence indicates that lipid chain length, degree of unsaturation, crystallinity, and interfacial architecture critically affect colloidal stability, digestion kinetics, bioactive release, and bioaccessibility. Practical strategies, including surfactant selection, biomimetic membranes, multilayer interfacial coatings, and surface functionalization, have been shown to enhance stability, enable targeted release, and improve matrix compatibility. Nonetheless, challenges remain in translating findings from model systems to complex foods, ensuring long-term shelf stability, maintaining vehicle integrity, and mitigating sensory impacts. By clarifying these design principles and evaluating matrix-dependent challenges, this review provides guidance for the rational development of structure-engineered LNVs for real food systems, enabling tunable functionality and potential commercial applications.