Hydrophilic Food-Borne Nanoparticles from Beef Broth as Novel Nanocarriers for Zinc

Abstract

Food-borne nanoparticles (FNs) may be used as nanocarriers for metal ion chelation in micronutrient supplements. In this paper, the preparation and characterization of hydrophilic FNs were reported from beef broth cooked with a pressure cooker at 117 °C for different periods (30, 50, and 70 min) and their potential application as nanocarriers for zinc was investigated. The broth FNs are quasi-spherical with good water solubility and ultrasmall size, which can emit a strong sapphire color under 365 nm ultraviolet irradiation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that there are carboxyl, amino, and hydroxyl groups on the FNs, which are useful for Zn­(II) chelation. The vibration band of CO at 1688 cm–1 in the infrared spectrum of FNs shifted to 1718 cm–1 after binding with Zn­(II) ions, suggesting the participation of the carbonyl group in Zn­(II) ion chelation. The appearance of Zn2p XPS peaks, at 1021.6 and 1045 eV for Zn­(II)–FNs, clearly demonstrated the formation of Zn–O between the FNs and zinc ions. Biodistribution of FNs and the Zn­(II)–FN complex in normal rat kidney cells demonstrated that they could easily enter normal rat kidney cells. A downfield was found for the signals of Zn­(II)–FNs in 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and strongly suggested the binding of Zn­(II) ions to FNs through carboxylic acid, hydroxyl, and amine groups. In addition, no obvious cytotoxicity was found for Zn­(II)–FNs compared to zinc (ZnSO4) and commercial zinc gluconate. The results revealed that the FNs from beef broth may have a potential as nanocarriers for zinc chelation.

Food-Borne Nanocarriers for Calcium Delivery: A New Choice for Nutrient Supplements

“…consistent with other metal-binding FNs [15,22]. Moreover, the zeta potential can reflect the nanoparticle alteration, and the binding process may result in the change of zeta potential values.…”

“…Besides, the vibration bands at 1044 cm −1 shifted to 1016 cm −1 , suggesting that the calcium ions were bound to the carboxyl groups in FNs as well. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the binding sites of calcium and FNs were mainly located in the amino and carboxyl groups, which was consistent with other metalbinding FNs [15,22]. Moreover, the zeta potential can reflect the nanoparticle alteration, and the binding process may result in the change of zeta potential values.…”

“…Song et al reported nanoparticles extracted from roast sturgeon that could be used as nanocarriers for Fe(II) delivery [21]. Geng et al reported that water-soluble FNs derived from beef broth treated by a pressure-cooker for 70 min have a potential application as nanocarriers for zinc [22]. It can be seen that FNs are ubiquitous in daily foods, and they have abundant functional groups on their surface, high water solubility, and an ultra-small size.…”

Endogenous Fluorescence Carbon Dots Derived from Food Items

“… 20 Beef Broth Isolated from beef broth 2.4–5.4 -OH; C=O; C=C 2.0–2.5 – Geng et al. 42 Mackerel Heating at 230°C in an oven 0.9–3.5 -OH; C=O; C-N 12 – Li et al. 43 …”

Assessment of Potential Toxicity of Onion-like Carbon Nanoparticles from Grilled Turbot Scophthalmus maximus L.

“…Many works have been conducted in understanding the potential risks of foodborne NPs, but little information is available about their subacute and chronic toxicity for foodborne hollow nanostructure like OCNPs. These foodborne NPs may be used as nanocarriers in the delivery of metal ions, including Zn 2+ , Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ , and so on, due to their small size and good water solubility [ 17 , 18 , 19 ]. The bioeffect of OCNPs is barely studied and their toxicity is probably highly related to their structures, including size and morphology [ 20 ].…”