| POLYMERS AND POLYMER MATRIX COMPOSITES |
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| Construction and Performance of pH-responsive Lactobacillus casei Microspheres Based on Hemicellulose Double Cross-linking |
| LIU Jingru1, ZHOU Xuesong1,2,*, SHEN Shuzhen1
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1 School of Light Industry and Engineering,South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China 2 State Key Laboratory of Advanced Paper-making and Paper-based Materials, Guangzhou 510641, China |
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Abstract As a common probiotic, Lactobacillus casei has shown remarkable efficacy in improving intestinal health and boosting immunity. However, its direct oral administration may lead to issues such as bacterial inactivation, safety risks, and uncontrolled dosage. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a safe and effective delivery material. In this study, a widely available dietary fiber — hemicellulose derived from corncob — was selected as the raw material. Through graft copolymerization modification, polymer segments primarily composed of polyacrylic acid (PAA) were introduced into its side chains. Using a glutaraldehyde-CaCl2 composite crosslinking system and the spray-drying method, pH-responsive biomass-based microspheres were successfully prepared. The results show that the diameter of the glutaraldehyde-CaCl2 composite-crosslinked microspheres (122.01 μm) was significantly larger than that of microspheres crosslinked with glutaraldehyde alone (16.57 μm). The encapsulation efficiency of Lactobacillus casei increased from 86.68% to 92.70%, and the bacterial viability rose from 98.32% to 98.45%. Release beha-vior in simulated gastrointestinal fluids demonstrated that the composite-crosslinked microspheres maintained a survival rate above 60% in simulated gastric fluid, while achieving a release rate of 80% within 30 min in simulated intestinal fluid, demonstrating favorable pH-responsive properties. Characterization results from FTIR and SEM revealed that ionic and covalent bonds were formed between the glutaraldehyde-CaCl2 compo-site crosslinking system and the modified hemicellulose. This synergistic crosslinking interaction enhanced the structural stability of the microspheres, as well as the encapsulation efficiency and survival rate of the probiotics. This study provides a novel strategy for the development of green and intelligent delivery systems for probiotics.
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Published:
Online: 2026-04-16
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