Comparison of the Release Kinetics of Bioactive Molecules from Native and Modified Starch Nanoparticles into Food and Gastric Simulants

Abstract

Starch nanoparticles (SNPs) show great potential to be used as carriers of bioactive molecules, due to their biocompatibility and relative easy synthesis. Furthermore, SNPs can be tailored to have specific properties through chemical modifications such as acetylation and citric acid cross linking, among others. Curcumin (CUR) and ferulic acid (FA) are two polyphenols extracted from turmeric and corn, respectively, that are known for several biological activities, specially their antioxidant capability. In this paper, native (NSNP), acetylated (ASNP) and citric acid cross‐linked (CaSNP) starch nanoparticles are used as carries of CUR and FA. Structural characterization through FTIR and XRD shows that bioactive molecules are incorporated into the starch carriers, and that specific interactions, specially hydrogen bonds, allows higher encapsulation in the modified SNPs. Likewise, release kinetics in food simulant media are studies. Mathematical modeling shows that diffusion is the main force for both CUR and FA release, and that kinetics are heavily influenced by the nature of the release media.