Encapsulation of curcumin using fucoidan stabilized zein nanoparticles: Preparation, characterization, and in vitro release performance

In this study, we used fucoidan (FD), a sulfated polysaccharide, to stabilize zein and obtain a composite nanosystem with better performance that can be used to encapsulate and deliver hydrophobic active substances. The composite nanoparticles of zein and FD with different mass ratios were prepared by the antisolvent precipitation method. The solution (zein/FD = 1:2) could maintain its stable solution state without precipitation under different environmental conditions (pH 2–8, heating at 80 °C for 120 min, salt concentration