Hydrophobic bioactives (e.g., curcumin, carotenoids, polyphenols) offer substantial health benefits but are fundamentally limited by poor water solubility, environmental instability, and low gastrointestinal bioavailability. While colloidal delivery systems help overcome these barriers, current research typically isolates and optimizes individual platforms, neglecting the broader conflict between structural stability and digestive bioaccessibility. This review systematically compares three hierarchical spatial confinement strategies-two-dimensional Pickering emulsions (PEs), three-dimensional macroscopic emulsion gels (EGs), and three-dimensional nanogels (NGs)-to clarify their structure-function relationships. We identify a fundamental tradeoff: structural features that maximize environmental stability often create severe steric hindrance, restricting enzyme permeability and lipid micellization. Consequently, release mechanisms vary fundamentally across platforms: PEs rely on interfacial desorption (first-order kinetics), EGs use continuous matrix diffusion (Ritger-Peppas model) for sustained release, and NGs leverage stimuli-responsive dynamic dissociation. Additionally, we map compound-specific compatibility requirements, showing that curcumin needs interfacial physical masking against alkaline hydrolysis, carotenoids require nanoscale amorphous confinement to prevent photo-oxidation, and polyphenols depend on dynamic redox protection. To address current bottlenecks, we advocate shifting from "passive stabilization" to "digestion-responsive engineering." By examining critical hurdles like the lack of in vitro-in vivo correlation (IVIVC), scalability, and long-term nanotoxicity, this review provides a practical framework for designing next-generation delivery systems.
Congxi Xu, Weiwei Cheng, Xinshuai Zhang et al.· Critical reviews in food sci...· 0 citations
Foodborne infections and enterotoxin poisoning caused by S. aureus pose serious threats to food safety and public health. However, conventional detection methods are often time-consuming, technically complex, and typically require relatively large sample volumes. Herein, we report an aptamer-functionalized rough gold nanoparticle (RPG)-based photothermal platform that enables rapid and quantitative detection of S. aureus using a smartphone-compatible thermal imaging system in combination with a laser and an infrared thermal camera. RPGs were synthesized via a facile one-step method, and exhibited uniform particle size and a measured photothermal conversion efficiency of ~73.20%. After optimization of the aptamer concentration, laser irradiation time, and probe concentration, the proposed method exhibited a wide detection range from 1.0 × 102 to 1.0 × 107 cfu/mL, with an operational detection threshold of 100 CFU/mL under the optimized experimental conditions, a total assay time of less than 40 min, and a sample requirement of only 30 μL per assay, while maintaining acceptable reproducibility. Spike-and-recovery experiments in real samples, including orange juice, tap water, and milk, yielded recoveries of 91.8–105.5%, indicating suitable analytical performance in complex matrices. This work provides a rapid, portable, and low-sample-volume detection strategy for S. aureus, offering a practical approach for on-site food safety monitoring.
As a sustainable plant protein resource, wheat germ protein (WGP) has attracted increasing attention because of its high digestibility, balanced essential amino acid profile, and broad potential in functional food development. However, its industrial application remains limited by processing bottlenecks and an incomplete understanding of its structure-function relationships and molecular mechanisms of action. This review systematically summarizes the structural characteristics, digestion behavior, and functional properties of WGP, and further evaluates its incorporation into diverse food matrices, particularly bakery products, meat analogues, and other functional formulations. In addition, current evidence on the physiological activities of WGP and its derived bioactive peptides is critically examined, with emphasis on antioxidant, antihypertensive, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective, and metabolic regulatory effects, together with the signaling pathways involved. Available studies indicate that WGP-derived peptides exert health-promoting effects not only through activation of key pathways such as Nrf2 and AMPK, but also through modulation of systemic homeostasis via the gut-brain and gut-liver axes. Overall, this review highlights the need to move beyond conventional nutritional fortification toward a mechanism-oriented design strategy, and provides a theoretical basis for the development of next-generation functional foods and specialized medical nutrition products based on WGP.
Long Pan, Jing Cai, Ai-Mei Liao et al.· Critical reviews in food sci...· 0 citations
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