Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Research Group for Food Production Engineering, National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Søltofts Plads 227, 2800, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
2 Department of Food Science and Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, Campus of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran
3 Department of Food Science and Technology, School of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
Abstract
Electrospinning is one of the most suitable techniques to produce uniform polymeric nanocarriers for encapsulating bioactive compounds. In this study, the electrospinning process parameters of poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers loaded with red ginseng extract (Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer) were optimized using response surface methodology based on a central composite design. The independent variables comprised extract concentration (2 to 6% v/v), applied voltage (12.5 to 22.5 kV), feed flow rate (0.4 to 1.2 mL/h), and tip-to-collector distance (15 to 30 cm). The physical properties of the electrospinning solutions and fiber morphology were examined. The developed quadratic model showed an excellent fit with the experimental data, as confirmed by statistical analysis (R² = 0.9977). The predicted best condition for the preparation of uniform nanocarriers with a diameter of 260 nm was 3.5% extract concentration, 15 cm tip-to-collector distance, 21.5 kV applied voltage, and 0.75 mL/h feed flow rate.At these conditions, the encapsulation efficiency of the extract in nanofibers reached 78.4%, suggesting that this system could be very promising. In addition, it was found that the extract altered the viscosity and electrical conductivity of the electrospinning solutions, thus affecting the fiber diameter. These results confirmed that polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers could be used as a platform for the controlled release of red ginseng bioactive compounds sensitive to various processing conditions.
Keywords
- Electrospinning
- Red ginseng
- Poly(vinyl alcohol) nanofibers
- Encapsulation
- Response surface methodology
Main Subjects
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