Polyhydroxyalkanoates-Based Nanoparticles as Essential Oil Carriers

Abstract

Plant-derived essential oils (EOs) represent a green alternative to conventional antimicrobial agents in food preservation. Due to their volatility and instability, their application is dependent on the development of efficient encapsulation strategies allowing their protection and release control. Encapsulation in Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-based nanoparticles (NPs) addresses this challenge, providing a biodegradable and biobased material whose delivery properties can be tuned by varying polymer composition. In this work, EO from Mexican oregano was efficiently encapsulated in Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyhexanoate (PHB-HHx)-based NPs by solvent evaporation technique achieving high encapsulation efficiency, (>60%) and loading capacity, (about 50%). The obtained NPs displayed a regular distribution with a size range of 150–210 nm. In vitro release studies in food simulant media were fitted with the Korsmeyer–Peppas model, indicating diffusion as the main factor controlling the release. The cumulative release was affected by the polymer composition, possibly related to the more amorphous nature of the copolymer, as confirmed by WAXS and DSC analyses. Both the EO-loaded nanosystems displayed antimicrobial activity against Micrococcus luteus, with PHB-HHx-based NPs being even more effective than the pure EO. The results open the way to the effective exploitation of the developed nanosystems in active packaging.

Pulsatile Controlled Release and Stability Evaluation of Polymeric Particles Containing Piper nigrum Essential Oil and Preservatives

“…Controlled release of bioactive compounds is the basic principle of encapsulated systems [ 7 ]. Considerable efforts have been devoted to the development of environmentally friendly particles for encapsulation of essential oils [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ], which have been widely applied as alternative controlling agents for agricultural pests [ 16 , 17 , 18 ] and for pharmacological purposes [ 19 , 20 ]. Specifically, the effectiveness of Piper nigrum (black pepper) essential oil against insects, mites, larvae, and aphids has been widely reported [ 21 , 22 ], as well as for the treatment of various diseases, such as intermittent fever, dysentery, stomachache, worms, and piles [ 23 ].…”

Novel Biodegradable Nanoparticulate Chain-End Functionalized Polyhydroxybutyrate–Caffeic Acid with Multifunctionalities for Active Food Coatings

“… 26 The size of PHB-DEA-CafA NPs was in the same range as that of those prepared by Corrado et al 57 who recently generated NPs based on PHB and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate- co -hydroxyhexanoate (PHB-HHx), encapsulated with Mexican oregano essential oil with mean particles size of 210 nm to exhibit a potent antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus . 57 PHB-DEA-CafA NPs demonstrated a spherical to oval shape when investigated by TEM. The mean particles sizes recorded by Malvern Zetasizer agreed with values obtained based on TEM analysis ( Figure 7 c).…”

“…The negative charge is likely related to the hydroxyl groups in the polymeric backbone, and the high value of zeta potential indicates strong colloidal stability . The size of PHB-DEA-CafA NPs was in the same range as that of those prepared by Corrado et al who recently generated NPs based on PHB and poly-3-hydroxybutyrate- co -hydroxyhexanoate (PHB-HHx), encapsulated with Mexican oregano essential oil with mean particles size of 210 nm to exhibit a potent antibacterial activity against Micrococcus luteus . PHB-DEA-CafA NPs demonstrated a spherical to oval shape when investigated by TEM.…”

Investigation of Guar Gum and Xanthan Gum Influence on Essential Thyme Oil Emulsion Properties and Encapsulation Release Using Modeling Tools

“…Towards the later stages of the observation period, the oil content ratios across samples began to approach a plateau, indicating a near-equilibrium state. In a previous work, a volatile release plateau was also identified by [ 37 ]. Remarkably, from 270 min onwards, the changes in oil content ratios became minimal, suggesting that most readily releasable volatiles had been exhausted.…”