The objective of this work was to produce nanoparticles containing bioactive peptides obtained by the enzymatic hydrolysis reaction of microalgal biomass. The hydrolysates were purified by vacuum filtration with membranes of different sizes and by vertical column membranes. After each step, an antioxidant activity test was conducted. The nanoparticles were developed by nanoatomization, with the size and morphology of the particles analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microalgae hydrolysates showed high antioxidant activity compared to non-hydrolyzed biomass. The nanoatomization of bioactive peptides caused no significant reduction in antioxidant activity, with maximum reductions of 15.0 and 17.4% by DPPH assay and 2.5 and 3.8% determined by reducing power assay for Spirulina LEB 18 and Chlorella pyrenoidosa, respectively, with no reduction in the ABTS values. Nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 14–18 nm and 72–108 were obtained for the Spirulina and Chlorella hydrolysates, respectively.
Keywords: Antioxidant Activity; Protein Hydrolysates; Biopeptides.