A casein micelle is a natural structure found in milk, based on the association between individual caseins and colloidal calcium phosphate, which can be used as vehicle for the encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds. In this project the capacity of micelles to encapsulate sesamol, a powerful antioxidant present in roasted sesame seeds, was evaluated. The micelles were reformed from sodium caseinate solutions at 2% or 5% (w/v) concentration, and then 1 or 2 mg/mL sesamol were added. A significant increase on the encapsulation efficiency was observed as caseinate concentration increased, going from 28% to 35% of sesamol encapsulated, while the encapsulation yield was greater in all cases for micelles from solutions with lower caseinate concentration. The average size of micelles ranged from 150 to 165 nm with an average zeta potential of -27.3 ± 1.86 mV. FTIR and fluorescence analysis confirm interactions within the casein chains and sesamol molecules with a bathochromic shift which suggests a predominant hydrophilic nature of such interactions. Differential scanning calorimetry thermograms showed that denaturation enthalpy tended to decrease as sesamol concentration increased, suggesting that sesamol molecules may be displacing the water molecules associated with the casein chains, reinforcing the idea of predominant hydrophilic interactions. Based on the results from encapsulation efficiency, it is estimated that about 7 g of casein micelles reformed from 2% (w/v) caseinate solutions with 2 mg/mL of added sesamol may provide the recommended daily dose and may be useful for the development of new functional food products. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The development of a nanodelivery system for different bioactives will allow the enrichment of foods and drinks to develop new functional products that will satisfy consumers' demands. Additionally, the study of interactions between these molecules will allow us to understand how sesamol is being incorporated within the reformed micelles and how this process can even be improved.

中文翻译：

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酪蛋白钠溶液重整酪蛋白胶束中芝麻酚包封过程中相互作用的研究

酪蛋白胶束是牛奶中发现的一种天然结构，基于单个酪蛋白和胶体磷酸钙之间的结合，可用作包封疏水化合物的载体。在该项目中，评估了胶束包裹芝麻酚的能力，芝麻酚是一种存在于烤芝麻中的强大抗氧化剂。胶束由浓度为 2% 或 5% (w/v) 的酪蛋白酸钠溶液重整，然后添加 1 或 2 mg/mL 芝麻酚。随着酪蛋白酸盐浓度的增加，观察到包封效率显着提高，从 28% 到 35% 的芝麻酚被包封，而在所有情况下，来自酪蛋白酸盐浓度较低的溶液的胶束的包封率都更高。胶束的平均尺寸范围为 150 至 165 nm，平均 zeta 电位为 -27.3 ± 1。86 毫伏。FTIR 和荧光分析证实酪蛋白链和芝麻酚分子内的相互作用具有红移，这表明这种相互作用具有主要的亲水性。差示扫描量热热分析图显示，随着芝麻酚浓度的增加，变性焓趋于降低，这表明芝麻酚分子可能正在置换与酪蛋白链相关的水分子，从而强化了亲水相互作用占主导地位的想法。根据包封效率的结果，估计从添加 2 mg/mL 芝麻酚的 2% (w/v) 酪蛋白溶液重整的约 7 g 酪蛋白胶束可提供推荐的每日剂量，并可能对开发有用的新型功能性食品。实际应用 不同生物活性物质的纳米递送系统的开发将允许食品和饮料的富集以开发新的功能性产品，以满足消费者的需求。此外，对这些分子之间相互作用的研究将使我们了解芝麻酚是如何被掺入重组胶束中的，以及如何改进这一过程。