Intestinal-specific oral delivery of lactoferrin with alginate-based composite and hybrid CaCO3-hydrogel beads

Lin Cao; Jie Li; Bogdan Parakhonskiy; Andre G Skirtach

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139205

Intestinal-specific oral delivery of lactoferrin with alginate-based composite and hybrid CaCO₃-hydrogel beads

Food Chem. 2024 Apr 16:451:139205. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139205. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Lin Cao¹, Jie Li², Bogdan Parakhonskiy³, Andre G Skirtach⁴

Affiliations

¹ Nano-Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium. Electronic address: Lin.Cao@UGent.be.
² Nano-Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium; Global Institute of Future Technology (GIFT), Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
³ Nano-Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium.
⁴ Nano-Biotechnology Laboratory, Department of Biotechnology, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium. Electronic address: Andre.Skirtach@UGent.be.

PMID: 38653102
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.139205

Abstract

Sodium alginate hydrogel beads and sodium alginate/gellan gum composite hydrogel beads crosslinked by calcium chloride were prepared with different alginate concentrations (3-20 mg·mL^-1). Additionally, a simple method for growing CaCO₃in situ on the hydrogel to create novel inorganic-organic hybrid hydrogel beads was presented. FT-IR analysis revealed the involvement of hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions in bead formation. Swelling behavior in acidic conditions showed a maximum of 13 g/g for composite hydrogels and CaCO₃-incorporated hybrid hydrogels. Lactoferrin encapsulation efficiency within these hydrogels ranged from 44.9 to 56.6%. In vitro release experiments demonstrated that these hydrogel beads withstand harsh gastric environments with <16% cumulative release of lactoferrin, achieving controlled release in intestinal surroundings. While composite sodium alginate/gellan gum beads exhibited slower gastrointestinal lactoferrin digestion, facile synthesis and pH responsiveness of CaCO₃-incorporated hybrid hydrogel also provide new possibilities for future studies to construct a novel inorganic-organic synergetic system for intestinal-specific oral delivery.

Keywords: Calcium carbonate; Gellan gum; Hybrid hydrogel bead; Lactoferrin encapsulation; Sodium alginate.