There remain gaps in our understanding of the fate of liposomes in the infant gastrointestinal tract, especially regarding essential proteins such as lactoferrin. Models in vitro that mirrored digestion in the stomach and intestine of infants and adults were used to explore the behaviour of lactoferrin-loaded liposomes. The liposomes behaved differently in these environments, with less hydrolysis of encapsulated lactoferrin under infant model conditions. Compared to the adult model (1000 ± 66 μM mL⁻¹), fewer free fatty acids were released (500 ± 43 μM mL⁻¹) from liposomal bilayers and there was less alteration in functional groups of phospholipids membranes, based on pH and FTIR after infant model digestion. Particle tracking analysis and TEM supported the reduced damage of particle structure under infant model conditions. This work provides information on the stability of functional protein-loaded liposomes during digestion, and shows the potential of liposomes to be nutrient carriers in infant foods.

在我们对婴儿胃肠道中脂质体命运的理解上，尤其是在诸如乳铁蛋白之类的必需蛋白质方面，我们仍然存在差距。反映婴儿和成人胃和肠消化的体外模型用于研究乳铁蛋白负载脂质体的行为。在这些环境中，脂质体的行为有所不同，在婴儿模型条件下，封装的乳铁蛋白的水解较少。与成人模型相比（1000±66μMmL ^-1），释放的游离脂肪酸更少（500±43μMmL ^-1）脂质体双层，基于婴儿模型消化后的pH和FTIR，磷脂膜的官能团变化较小。粒子跟踪分析和TEM支持在婴儿模型条件下减少了粒子结构的破坏。这项工作提供了有关功能蛋白负载的脂质体在消化过程中的稳定性的信息，并显示了脂质体在婴儿食品中作为营养载体的潜力。