Embedding and Delivery of Probiotics
Encapsulation of probiotics in a carrier material is a common probiotic delivery strategy. During production, it is challenging to effectively protect probiotics from hard materials and to obtain sufficient numbers of active bacteria at the target site. Creative Enzymes provides one-stop probiotic encapsulation services, including encapsulation materials, encapsulation methods, delivery system selection and evaluation of delivery efficiency to ensure effective and reliable probiotic products for our clients.
Overview
The encapsulation material protects probiotics from adverse environments such as low pH and osmotic pressure. The purpose of probiotic encapsulation is not only to protect the cells from adverse environments, but also to release probiotics. Creative Enzymes has developed various technologies to encapsulate probiotics. We focus on the impact on surface morphology, viability and survival of probiotics in the selection of encapsulation methods and delivery systems to better deliver quality-assured probiotic products to our clients.
Fig. 1 Proposed ideal probiotic delivery. (Kim, 2016)
Our Services
- Selection of probiotic encapsulation materials
The viability of the encapsulated probiotics depends on the physicochemical properties of the encapsulated material. Creative Enzymes offers the following commonly used materials for probiotic encapsulation.
| Encapsulated Materials | Description |
|---|---|
| Alginate | Alginate is a natural polysaccharide derived from brown algae or bacteria and is widely used as an encapsulating material for probiotics. |
| Gums | Xanthan gum is an exopolysaccharide composed of glucose, mannose and glucuronic acid with resistance to a wide range of pH and thermal stress. |
| Proteins | Probiotics are encapsulated in proteins by enzymatic or chemical cross-linking or by temperature-dependent gelation. The amphiphilic nature of proteins provides unique properties for probiotic delivery systems. |
| Synthetic polymer | Synthetic polymers such as poly (D, L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyacrylamide are biocompatible materials that can be used for time-dependent release. |
- Selection of probiotic encapsulation method
Creative Enzymes offers our clients a variety of encapsulation methods based on different principles.
| Classification | Encapsulation Methods |
|---|---|
| Physical methods | Spray drying, supercritical-fluid based techniques, solvent evaporation. |
| Chemical methods | Molecular inclusion complexation, and interfacial polymerization. |
| Physicochemical methods | Liposomes, coacervation, and ionic gelation. |
- Selection of delivery systems for probiotics
Creative Enzymes selects the right delivery system according to the clients' demands, which mainly include the following.
| Multi-layer coating | Core-shell |
| Enteric coating | Multi-particulate |
| Composite | Cell surface engineering |
- Assessment of probiotic delivery efficiency
Creative Enzymes provides suitable in vivo and in vitro models to evaluate the efficiency of probiotic delivery systems to ensure an effective probiotic product for our clients. We assess the survival of probiotics in the gastrointestinal tract by plate count method or flow cytometry.
In vitro models
Our in vitro digestion approach includes both dynamic and static models. The static model uses a constant ratio of food to digestive juices and a constant pH value for each step of digestion. Digestive juices include simulated saliva, simulated gastric juices and simulated intestinal juices. The dynamic model allows adjustment of pH, control of food flow and real-time injection of digestive enzymes in different zones of the gastrointestinal tract, which is more conducive to accurate simulation of the actual digestive process.
In vivo models
Creative Enzymes further tests the delivery efficiency of probiotics through in vivo models. We use molecular biology methods such as RT-PCR to detect the viability of probiotic cells after oral administration. In addition, we evaluate the effect of encapsulation on probiotic function through multiple animal models.
Creative Enzymes is a professional and experienced probiotic supplier and service provider. We are committed to selecting the right encapsulation material for our clients combined with the delivery method to ensure product viability. To get more information, please contact us and we will be happy to serve your research demands.
Reference
- Kim, J.; et al. Probiotic delivery systems: a brief overview. Journal of pharmaceutical investigation. 2016, 46(4): 377-386.
