Encapsulation and controlled release of vitamin C in modified cellulose nanocrystal/chitosan nanocapsules

• Published in: Current research in food science Vol. 4; pp. 215 - 223
• Main Authors: Baek, Jiyoo, Ramasamy, Mohankandhasamy, Willis, Natasha Carly, Kim, Dae Sung, Anderson, William A., Tam, Kam C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2021; Elsevier
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Cellulose nanocrystal; Chitosan; Functional foods; Nanocapsule; Research Paper; Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid); Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid); Nanocapsule; VC-GCh-PCNC; VC; PCNC; GCh; Antioxidants; Cellulose nanocrystal; Functional foods; TPP; CNC; Chitosan; VC-GCh-TPP; GCh, GTMAC-Chitosan; VC-GCh-PCNC, Vitamin C-GTMAC-Chitosan with Phosphorylated-CNC; TPP, Sodium tripolyphosphate; PCNC, Phosphorylated-CNC; VC, Vitamin C; VC-GCh-TPP, Vitamin C-GTMAC-Chitosan with Sodium tripolyphosphate; CNC, Cellulose nanocrystals
• ISSN: 2665-9271; 2665-9271
• DOI: 10.1016/j.crfs.2021.03.010

Vitamin C (VC), widely used in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, is susceptible to degradation, and new formulations are necessary to maintain its stability. To address this challenge, VC encapsulation was achieved via electrostatic interaction with glycidyltrimethylammonium chloride (GTMAC)-chitosan (GCh) followed by cross-linking with phosphorylated-cellulose nanocrystals (PCNC) to form VC-GCh-PCNC nanocapsules. The particle size, surface charge, degradation, encapsulation efficiency, cumulative release, free-radical scavenging assay, and antibacterial test were quantified. Additionally, a simulated human gastrointestinal environment was used to assess the efficacy of the encapsulated VC under physiological conditions. Both VC loaded, GCh-PCNC, and GCh-Sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP) nanocapsules were spherical with a diameter of 450 ​± ​8 and 428 ​± ​6 ​nm respectively. VC-GCh-PCNC displayed a higher encapsulation efficiency of 90.3 ​± ​0.42% and a sustained release over 14 days. The release profiles were fitted to the first-order and Higuchi kinetic models with R2 values greater than 0.95. VC-GCh-PCNC possessed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity with a minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) of 8–16 ​μg/mL. These results highlight that modified CNC-based nano-formulations can preserve, protect and control the release of active compounds with improved antioxidant and antibacterial properties for food and nutraceutical applications. [Display omitted] •Vitamin C (VC) was encapsulated by modified chitosan and cellulose nanocrystals.•Phosphorylated cellulose nanocrystal (PCNC) was used as a cross-linking agent.•The encapsulation efficiency of the prepared VC-GCh-PCNC was 90.3 ​± ​0.42%.•At 14 days, nanocapsules prepared using PCNC and TPP released 10% and 70% VC respectively.•GTMAC-chitosan (GCh) and VC contributed antibacterial function to the nanocomplex.