Microfluidic Assembly: An Innovative Tool for the Encapsulation, Protection, and Controlled Release of Nutraceuticals
Haofan Liu, Rahul Pratap Singh, Zhengyu Zhang, Xiao Han, Yang Liu, Liandong Hu
Abstract
Nutraceuticals have been gradually accepted as food ingredients that can offer health benefits and provide protection against several diseases. It is widely accepted due to potential nutritional benefits, safety, and therapeutic effects. Most nutraceuticals are vulnerable to the changes in the external environment, which leads to poor physical and chemical stability and absorption. Several researchers have designed various encapsulation technologies to promote the use of nutraceuticals. Microfluidic technology is an emerging approach which can be used for nutraceutical delivery with precise control. The delivery systems using microfluidic technology have obtained much interest in recent years. In this review article, we have summarized the recently introduced nutraceutical delivery platforms including emulsions, liposomes, microspheres, microgels, and polymer nanoparticles based on microfluidic techniques. Emphasis has been made to discuss the advantages, preparations, characterizations, and applications of nutraceutical delivery systems. Finally, the challenges, several up-scaling methods, and future expectations are discussed.