The present study aimed to entrap probiotic lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in a sodium alginate and sodium caseinate aqueous two-phase gel system. The natural acidifying properties of two therapeutic probiotic LAB were exploited to liberate calcium ions progressively from calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which caused the gelation of the co-existing phases. Bi-biopolymeric matrix gelation of GDL/CaCO3 or LAB/CaCO3 was monitored by dynamic rheological measurements, and the final gels were characterized by frequency dependence measurements and confocal laser scanning microscopy. Weak to strong gels were formed with an elastic modulus G' from 10 to 1.000Pa, respectively. After cold-set gelation of our system, confocal laser scanning microscopy showed spherical protein microdomains trapped within a calcium alginate network. LAB cells were stained to study their partition in the self-gelling matrices. Our LAB strains showed two different behaviors, which may relate to the exopolysaccharide production: (i) Lactobacillus plantarum CNRZ1997 cells were found mainly in continuous alginate networks, whereas (ii) Lactococcus lactis cells were localized in protein microdomains. This alginate-caseinate phase-separated system that was self-gelled by LAB cells may be an innovative approach for immobilizing and protecting LAB cells.
Keywords: Aqueous two-phase system; Biopolymeric gel; Immobilization; Probiotic lactic acid bacteria.
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