Khan Abbas, Wang Cuina, Killpartrick Adam, Guo Mingruo
Department of Nutrition and Health Promotion, University of Home Economics Lahore, Lahore 54700, Pakistan.
College of Food Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130062, China.
Antioxidants (Basel). 2025 Feb 26;14(3):273. doi: 10.3390/antiox14030273.
This study determined the impact of ultrasound duration on the encapsulation of 3,3'-diindolylmethane (DIM) using whey protein concentrate (WPC) nanoparticles. Whey-protein-concentrate-based DIM nanoparticles were prepared and treated with different ultrasound times (0-20 min) with 30% amplitude at 4 °C. The results showed that ultrasound treatment significantly decreased the mean particle size (from 265 nm to 218 nm) and the Polydispersity Index (PDI) value (from 0.49 to 0.43) as well as zeta potential values were notably increased. The encapsulation efficiency (EE%) increased with increasing sonication time (0-20 min) from 76% to 88%, respectively. The ultrasound treatment had a significant effect on the apparent viscosity, and a decrease in the viscosity as a function of shear rate was observed with increasing sonication time. The transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) micrographs demonstrated that all of the formulations treated with different sonication times had a smooth and uniform spherical shape and ultrasound treatment led to the reduction of particle size, especially after 20 min of ultrasound. The thermal stability of the WPC-DIM nanoparticles was enhanced with increasing sonication time by increasing peak denaturation temperature and enthalpy. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra analysis revealed that ultrasound treatment had a remarkable effect on the secondary structure of WPC-DIM nanoparticles; electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonds between DIM and whey protein were strengthened. Moreover, the length of ultrasound treatment exhibited a significant effect on the DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) scavenging activity (from 56% to 62%) and ABTS(2,2'-azinobis(2 ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate) scavenging activity (from 47% to 68%). In conclusion, the ultrasound treatment successfully improved the physicochemical, microstructural, and antioxidative properties of WPC-DIM nanoparticles; therefore, it is considered an effective method to develop whey-protein-concentrate-based DIM nanoparticles for medical and nutritional applications.
本研究确定了超声处理时间对使用乳清蛋白浓缩物（WPC）纳米颗粒包封3,3'-二吲哚基甲烷（DIM）的影响。制备了基于乳清蛋白浓缩物的DIM纳米颗粒，并在4℃下以30%的振幅用不同的超声时间（0 - 20分钟）进行处理。结果表明，超声处理显著降低了平均粒径（从265纳米降至218纳米），多分散指数（PDI）值（从0.49降至0.43），同时ζ电位值显著增加。包封效率（EE%）随着超声处理时间（0 - 20分钟）的增加而分别从76%提高到88%。超声处理对表观粘度有显著影响，随着超声处理时间的增加，观察到粘度随剪切速率的降低。透射电子显微镜（TEM）显微照片表明，用不同超声处理时间处理的所有制剂均具有光滑且均匀的球形，超声处理导致粒径减小，尤其是在超声处理20分钟后。通过提高峰值变性温度和焓，随着超声处理时间的增加，WPC - DIM纳米颗粒的热稳定性增强。傅里叶变换红外光谱（FT - IR）光谱分析表明，超声处理对WPC - DIM纳米颗粒的二级结构有显著影响；DIM与乳清蛋白之间的静电相互作用和氢键得到加强。此外，超声处理的时长对2,2 - 二苯基 - 1 - 苦基肼（DPPH）清除活性（从56%提高到62%）和2,2'-联氮 - 双 - 3 - 乙基苯并噻唑啉 - 6 - 磺酸（ABTS）清除活性（从47%提高到68%）有显著影响。总之，超声处理成功改善了WPC - DIM纳米颗粒的物理化学、微观结构和抗氧化性能；因此，它被认为是开发用于医学和营养应用的基于乳清蛋白浓缩物的DIM纳米颗粒的有效方法。
