Fabrication and Characterization of PVA-WPI Based Nanofiber Mats for Improved Viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG

Noor Akram; Muhammad Afzaal; Farhan Saeed; Adnan Ahmad; Ali Imran; Aftab Ahmed; Yasir Abbas Shah; Fakhar Islam; Suliman Yousef Alomar; Salim Manoharadas; Asad Nawaz

doi:10.3390/foods12213904

Fabrication and Characterization of PVA-WPI Based Nanofiber Mats for Improved Viability of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG

Foods. 2023 Oct 25;12(21):3904. doi: 10.3390/foods12213904.

Authors

Noor Akram¹, Muhammad Afzaal^{1

2}, Farhan Saeed², Adnan Ahmad³, Ali Imran², Aftab Ahmed⁴, Yasir Abbas Shah⁵, Fakhar Islam², Suliman Yousef Alomar⁶, Salim Manoharadas⁷, Asad Nawaz⁸

Affiliations

¹ Food Safety and Biotechnology Lab, Department of Food Science, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
² Department of Food Science, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
³ Research School of Chemistry, Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia.
⁴ Department of Nutritional Sciences, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan.
⁵ Natural and Medical Science Research Center, University of Nizwa, Nizwa 616, Oman.
⁶ Zoology Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁷ Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
⁸ Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center for Comprehensive Development and Utilization of Biomass Resources, College of Chemistry and Bioengineering, Hunan University of Science and Engineering, Yongzhou 425199, China.

Abstract

In the current study, whey protein-based nanofibers were fabricated to encapsulate Lactobacillus rhamnosus. Purposely, different ratios of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) and WPI (whey protein isolate) were blended to fabricate nanofibers. Nanofiber mats were characterized in terms of particle size, diameter, tensile strength, elongation at break, and loading efficiency. Morphological and molecular characterizations were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Moreover, in vitro viability under simulated gastrointestinal (GI) conditions and thermal stability were also assessed. The results reveal that by increasing the PVA concentration, the conductivity increased while the viscosity decreased. SEM micrographs showed that probiotics were successfully loaded within the nanofiber. The FTIR spectra show strong bonding between the encapsulating materials with the addition of probiotics. In vitro and thermal analyses revealed that the survival of encapsulated probiotics significantly (p < 0.05) improved. In a nutshell, PVA-WPI composite nanofibers have promising potential when used to enhance the viability and stability of probiotics under adverse conditions.

Keywords: electrospinning; gastrointestinal; nanofibers; probiotics; simulated; viability; whey protein isolates.

Grants and funding

The authors would like to thank the Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP2023R35), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for funding research work.