Abstract
The encapsulation and delivery of food functional factors represent a transformative and groundbreaking innovation in food science, enabling the protection, stabilization, and controlled release of sensitive bioactive compounds. This review comprehensively explores advanced micro- and nano-delivery carrier platforms, including Pickering emulsions, micro-emulsions, microcapsules, and nanoparticles, which offer enhanced stability, improve bioavailability, and highly targeted delivery of nutrients and other bioactive substances. By addressing significant challenges such as the instability, degradation and low bioavailability of bioactive compounds, as well as the need for efficient, scalable, and versatile carrier designs, these technologies integrate seamlessly with sustainable bio-manufacturing processes. Applications in functional foods dietary supplements and nutraceutical demonstrate their vast potential to enhance consumer health outcomes and streamline food production systems with greater efficiency. Future research efforts must prioritize scaling these innovative technologies, ensuring regulatory compliance, and developing highly adaptable, multifunctional delivery systems to meet the rapidly growing demand for functional food and wellness solutions.
1.Introduction
The burgeoning field of food science and technology has witnessed a significant surge in interest in developing innovative strategies for enhancing the stability, bioavailability, and efficacy of food functional factors. Functional factors, including vitamins,minerals, probiotics, and polyphenols, are integral to enhancing human health and addressing nutritional deficiencies (Vlaicu et al., 2023). However, their inherent instability, susceptibility to environmental factors, and limited bioavailability present significant challenges in their effective incorporation into food systems (Zhang et al., 2024).To address these challenges, the scientific community has increasingly embraced encapsulation technologies, leveraging their potential to enhance stability, precision, and efficacy in delivering functional compounds. The development of advanced delivery systems, such as micro-and nano-delivery platforms, has opened up new possibilities for targeted delivery of bioactive compounds to specific tissues or cells. These platforms, which include pickering emulsions, micro-emulsions, microcapsules, and nanoparticles, are engineered to overcome physical and chemical degradation, improve bioavailability, and enable targeted delivery (Li et al., 2024). Pickering emulsionsare a form of emulsion stabilized by solid particles rather than traditional surfactants.
The solid particles adsorb to the oil-water interface, offering enhanced stability and controlled release properties, making them ideal for encapsulating hydrophobicbioactives. On the other hand, microemulsions are thermodynamically stable mixtures of oil, water, and surfactants, typically in the nanometer size range. These systems have the ability to encapsulate both hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds, offering enhanced bioavailability and stability. Additionally, nanoparticles, including liposomes and solid lipid nanoparticles, are characterized by their small size and large surface area, making them highly efficient at encapsulating bioactive compounds and ensuring targeted delivery (da Silva Santos et al., 2019). The versatility of these systems makes them highly suitable for a wide range of food applications, from functional beverages to fortified foods and dietary supplements.
Their application extends beyond food systems, influencing areas such as nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, and cosmeceuticals, thereby bridging the gap between food science and advanced bio-manufacturing. A diverse range of encapsulation techniques, including emulsion-based methods, spray drying, and electrospinning, have been employed to encapsulate various food functional factors (Niu et al., 2020). In the context of advanced bio-manufacturing, these encapsulation systems align with sustainability goals by improving process efficiency andreducing waste. Moreover, they play a crucial role in meeting consumer demands for functional foods with enhanced health benefits (Aguilar-Pérez et al., 2023). With the growing emphasis on personalized nutrition and functional foods, encapsulation technologies have the potential to revolutionize the food industry by delivering bioactive compounds in a more effective and consumer-friendly manner.
Despite the numerous advantages, the implementation of micro-and nano-delivery systems in food biomanufacturingis not without challenges. One of the primary obstacles is scalability -transitioning from laboratory-scale systems to large-scale industrial production. Maintaining consistency in particle size, distribution, and overall performance across different batches is critical for the commercial viability of these technologies (Bauer et al., 2018). Additionally, there are concerns regarding the stability of encapsulated systems during storage and under varying environmental conditions, such as temperature fluctuations and changes in pH. The potential toxicity of certain nano-scale delivery systems also raises regulatory concerns, particularly regarding the safety of long-term consumption.By integrating encapsulation technologies, advanced biomanufacturing can optimize ingredient functionality, reduce waste, and improve the sustainability of food production.
Additionally, the use of micro-and nano-delivery platforms allows for the development of novel food products with tailored nutritional benefits, addressing the growing consumer demand for functional foods and nutraceuticals. The ability to scale these technologies from laboratory research to industrial applications marks a significant advancement in food processing, contributing to more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable biomanufacturing practices.This review examines the principles and recent advancements in diverse micro-and nano-delivery systems, with a focus on their underlying mechanisms, broad-spectrum applications, and associated challenges. Additionally, it discusses their integration into bio-manufacturing processes and outlines future research directions aimed at fostering innovation and addressing existing limitations in this evolving field.
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Advances in the Encapsulation and Delivery of Food Functional Factors: Micro- and Nano-Delivery Carrier Platforms in Bio-manufacturing
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Sadia Younis, Muhammad Yousaf, Ayesha Nazir, Yasmeen Bano. Advances in the Encapsulation and Delivery ofFood Functional Factors: Micro-and Nano-Delivery Carrier Platforms in Bio-Manufacturing. Journal of Food and Agricultural Technology Research, Vol. 4 No. Issue 01 (2025).
https://doi.org/10.69501/epgwv312
