Abstract
Folates are a group of vitamins vital for the growth and development of the central nervous system. Most of these natural derivatives of folic acid are prone to oxidation and are very sensitive towards heat, temperature, oxygen, and light. Encapsulation of folic acid within inert matrices of a polymer can improve its stability and stop its degradation by light and oxygen. Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) technology is capable of generating fine droplets ranging from micrometers to nanometers in diameter from the breakup of a jet depending on the flow rate and applied electrical potential difference. The aims of this study were to generate nano-sized particles of folic acid encapsulated in sodium alginate (Na alginate) using EHD technology and to study the effect of voltage and flow rate on particle size as well as the structure of the prepared particles. It was established that 40 mg/ml (Na alginate) concentration can be used in single jet EHD technology. However, only 10 mg/ml concentration furnished stable jetting at any applied voltage and flow rate. So, this concentration was utilized and used to encapsulate higher dosages of folic acid. It was observed that the optimum flow rate for obtaining spherical particles of uniform diameter (4.2 ± 1.2 μm) was 10 μl/min at a voltage of 12 kV. Upon drying, these particles acquired a diameter in the range of 50–200 nm and became less spherical in shape. As the folic acid concentration is increased from 1 to 10 mg/ml, the percentage yield of particles at a constant Na alginate concentration increased by over 10 % and the corresponding encapsulation efficiency doubled. FTIR spectroscopic studies revealed the presence of folic acid within Na alginate matrices and also no characteristic chemical interaction between them. It can be concluded from the above research findings that, at 10 mg/ml Na alginate concentration, 10 μl/min flow rate, and 12 kV voltage, a high amount of folic acid (5 mg/ml) can be encapsulated within Na alginate matrices, with high percentage yield (70 %) and loading capacity (96 %), generating non-spherical dried beads/particles of 90–150 nm in diameter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baugh, C. M., & Krumdieck, C. L. (2006). Naturally occurring folates. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 186, 7–28.
Daly, S., Mills, J. L., Molloy, A. M., Conley, M., Lee, Y. J., Kirke, P. N., et al. (1997). Minimum effective dose of folic acid for food fortification to prevent neural tube defects. Lancet, 350, 1666–1669.
Department of Health. (2000). Folic acid and the prevention of disease. TSO: Report of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food and Nutrition Policy.
Edirisinghe, S. P. (2004). Homocysteine-induced thrombosis. British Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 61, 40–47.
Enayati, M., Chang, M. W., Bragman, F., Edirisinghe, M., & Stride, E. (2011). Electrohydrodynamic preparation of particles, capsules and bubbles for biomedical engineering applications. Colloids and Surfaces A. Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 382, 154–164.
Gonnet, M., Lethuaut, L., & Boury, F. (2010). New trends in encapsulation of liposoluble vitamins. Journal of Controlled Release, 146, 276–290.
Herbert, V. (1999). Folic acid. In M. E. Shils, J. A. Olson, M. Shike, & A. C. Ross (Eds.), Modern nutrition in health and disease (9th ed., pp. 433–446). Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.
Honein, M. A., Paulozzi, L. J., Mathews, T. J., Erickson, J. D., & Wong, L.-Y. C. (2001). Impact of folic acid fortification of the US food supply on the occurrence of neural tube defects. Journal of the American Medical Association, 285, 2981–2986.
Jaworek, A. (2008). Electrostatic micro- and nanoencapsulation and electroemulsification: a brief review. Journal of Microencapsulation, 25, 443–468.
Jayasinghe, S. N., & Edirisinghe, M. J. (2002). Effect of viscosity on the size of relics produced by electrostatic atomization. Journal of Aerosol Science, 33, 1379–1388.
Kafrissen, M. E., & Oakley, G. (2001). Pharmaceutical methods of delivering folic acid. US Patent, 6190693.
Kanthamneni, N. & Prabhu, S. (2006) Formulation development of targeted nanoparticle-based drug delivery systems for the chemoprevention of colon cancer. AAPS Annual Meeting Exposition, 28th Oct to 2nd Nov, Texas, USA. http://www.aapsj.org/abstracts/AM_2006/AAPS2006-003413.pdf.
Kanwar, J. R., Long, B. M., & Kanwar, R. K. (2011). The use of cyclodextrins nanoparticles for oral delivery. Current Medicinal Chemistry, 18, 2079–2085.
Klokk, T. I., & Melvik, J. E. (2002). Controlling the size of alginate gel beads by use of a high electrostatic potential. Journal of Microencapsulation, 19, 415–424.
Luo, C. J., Loh, S., Stride, E., & Edirisinghe, M. (2012). Electrospraying and electrospinning of chocolate suspensions. Journal of Food and Bioprocess Technology. doi:10.1007/s11947-011-0534-6.
Madziva, H., Kailasapathy, K., & Phillips, M. (2005). Alginate–pectin microcapsules as a potential for folic acid delivery in foods. Journal of Microencapsulation, 22, 343–351.
Manufuture (2006) Vision 2020 and Strategic Research Agenda of the European Agricultural Machinery Industry and Research Community for the 7th Framework Programme for Research of the European Community, Brussels, Belgium.
Moghadam, H., Samimi, M., Samimi, A., & Khorram, M. (2009). Study of parameters affecting size distribution of beads produced from electro-spray of high viscous liquids. Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 6, 88–98.
Neethirajan, S., & Jayas, D. S. (2011). Nanotechnology for the food and bioprocessing industries. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 4, 39–47.
Rowe RC, Sheley PT & Quinn ME (2009) Alginic acid. In: Handbook of pharmaceutical excipients, 6th edn. American Pharmacist Association, USA, page 20–22
Scholl, T. O., & Johnson, W. G. (2000). Folic acid: influence on the outcome of pregnancy. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71, 1295S–1303S.
Scott, J., Rebeille, F., & Fletcher, J. (2000). Review—folic acid and folates: the feasibility for nutritional enhancement in plant foods. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 80, 795–824.
Stevanovic, M., Radulovic, A., Jordovic, B., & Uskokovic, D. (2008). Poly(dl-lactide-co-glycolide) nanospheres for the sustained release of folic acid. Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology, 4, 1–10.
Vahteristo, L. T., Lehikoinen, K. E., Ollilainen, V., Koivistoinen, P. E., & Varo, P. (1998). Oven-baking and frozen storage affect folate vitamer retention. LWT- Food Science and Technology, 31, 329–333.
Wigertz, K., Svensson, U. K., & Jagerstad, M. (1997). Folate and folate binding protein content in dairy products. The Journal of Dairy Research, 64, 239–252.
Williams, P. G., Ross, H., & Miller, J. C. B. (1995). Ascorbic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate losses in vegetables with cook/chill or cook/hot-hold food service systems. Journal of Food Science, 60, 541–546.
Witthoft, C. M., Forssen, K., Johannesson, L., & Jagerstad, M. (1999). Folates—food sources, analyses, retention and bioavailability. Scandanavian Journal of Nutrition, 43, 138–146.
Yoo, H. S., & Park, T. G. (2004). Folate receptor targeted biodegradable polymeric doxorubicin micelles. Journal of Controlled Release, 96, 273–283.
Zhang, J., Rana, S., Srivastava, R. S., & Misra, R. D. K. (2008). On the chemical synthesis and drug delivery response of folate receptor-activated, polyethylene glycol-functionalized magnetite nanoparticles. Acta Biomaterialia, 4, 40–48.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the Archaeology Department at University College London for use of their electron microscope. The authors wish to acknowledge the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (Platform grant EP/E045839/1) of the UK for funding their research. We also gratefully acknowledge funding from The Leverhulme Trust (grant F/07 134/DG) for supporting the contribution by Dr. Nangrejo.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bakhshi, P.K., Nangrejo, M.R., Stride, E. et al. Application of Electrohydrodynamic Technology for Folic Acid Encapsulation. Food Bioprocess Technol 6, 1837–1846 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-012-0843-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11947-012-0843-4