Mesoporous silica nanoparticles loaded with capsaicin and their oxidation resistance in meat preservation

•MSNs with regular porous structure and homogeneous grain diameter is prepared.•Capsaicin loaded with MSNs can improve the antioxidant properties of meat.•All sizes of MSNs have a certain CAP loading capacity and slowly release CAP.•MSNs with smaller size can load more capsaicin and have better antioxidant effect. In this work, capsaicin (CAP) was loaded into mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) with grain diameters of 50 nm, 100 nm and 400 nm by free diffusion to obtain the support materials Cap@MSN-50, Cap@MSN-100 and Cap@MSN-400, respectively. The loading capacity was separately calculated as 854.77, 713.86 and 649.09 (mg/g Cap/MSN) by ultraviolet spectrophotometry. An IFFM-E flow injection chemiluminescent analyzer was used for the slow-release experiment, which demonstrated that the MSN release of CAP proceeded with a slow-release effect and MSNs with a smaller grain diameter had a higher rate of slow release and stronger oxidation resistance. The prepared materials were used to maintain the freshness of ground beef by modified atmosphere packaging. After more than 5 days of storage, Cap@MSN-50 retained better oxidation resistance than CAP. The results show that loading CAP into mesoporous nanomaterials has the potential application value for long-term preservation and oxidation prevention of some foods.