| Summary: | Probiotics are delivered orally for treating gastrointestinal tract (GIT) infections; thus, they should be protected from the harsh environment of the GIT, such as through microencapsulation. Here, we microencapsulated cells of the probiotic <i>Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus</i> GG via the liquid-droplet-forming method and evaluated them for oral delivery of bovine lactoferrin (bLf). Briefly, sodium alginate capsules (G-capsules) were first prepared, crosslinked with calcium chloride (C-capsules), and then modified with disodium hydrogen phosphate (M-capsules). All capsules showed good swelling behavior in the order of G-capsules > C-capsules > M-capsules in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 2) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.2). FE-SEM observations showed the formation of porous surfaces and successful microencapsulation of <i>L. rhamnosus</i> GG cells. The microencapsulated probiotics showed 85% and 77% viability in SGF and SIF, respectively, after 300 min. Compared to the 65% and 70% viability of gelation-encapsulated and crosslinking-encapsulated <i>L. rhamnosus</i> GG cells, respectively, the mineralization-encapsulated cells showed up to 85% viability after 300 min in SIF. The entrapment of bLf in the mineralization-encapsulated <i>L. rhamnosus</i> GG cells did not show any toxicity to the cells. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the successful surface modification of <i>L. rhamnosus</i> GG cells via gelation, crosslinking, and mineralization, along with the entrapment of bLf on the surface of microencapsulated cells. The findings of these studies show that the microencapsulated <i>L. rhamnosus</i> GG cells with natural polyelectrolytes could be used as stable carriers for the oral and sustainable delivery of beneficial biotherapeutics without compromising their viability and the activity of probiotics.
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