Screening of variables for the obtention of electrosprayed thyme oil-alginate micro-beads through a Plackett-Burman design

CASTELLANO, JORGELINA; ANSORENA, M. ROBERTA; RIVERO GUADALUPE; PEREDA, MARIANA

Nantes

Simposio; Biopolymers 2017; 2017

Microencapsulation aims for the preservation of compounds from the environment,preventing the degradation and volatilization, thus keeping the stability, bioavailability and biological functionality of the compounds of interest. Thyme essential oil (TEO) is particularly attractive for its natural antimicrobial and antioxidant properties either for cosmetic and food applications. Alginate (AL) is a natural polymer extensively used as microcapsules shell given the non-toxic biocompatible and biodegradable properties of the gel easily formed once it reacts with divalent cations like Ca+2. Briefly, an O/W emulsion of TEO in an aqueous alginate solution is dropped by the electrospraying technique into a Ca+2 containing media in a controlled way, for the formation of gel shell. The identification of the parameters influencing the oil content and the encapsulation efficiency of the resulting beads and their relative importance is the primary step in their production. The objective of the present research was to perform the screening of variables for the obtention of electrosprayed thymol-alginate microbeads applying a Plackett-Burman design. The drying method was previously selected evaluating the size, shape, encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity.