Physico-chemical characterization of ultrasound assisted clove oil-loaded nanoemulsion: As enhanced antimicrobial potential

•Clove oil has potent antimicrobial activity.•Nanoemulsion fabricated with clove oil enhances its solubility in aqueous system.•Clove oil nanoemulsion was stable against various processing parameters.•Study revealed enhanced antimicrobial activity with nanoemulsion than free oil. Clove oil has a high eugenol content, making it an effective antimicrobial essential oil; nevertheless, its low water solubility, high volatility, and organoleptic qualities limit its use in food systems. As a result, we created an antibacterial system using clove oil-in-water nanoemulsion. Clove oil nanoemulsions were produced using whey protein concentrate (0.1–1%) as an emulsifier by ultrasonication and various physico-chemical characteristics (stability, particle size, zeta-potential, and poly dispersity index) were investigated. Mean particle size, zeta potential and polydispersity index of the most stable nanoemulsion were 279.0 ± 8.43 nm, -34.5 ± 0.12 mV, and 0.179 ± 0.012, respectively. Most stable nanoemulsion was fairly stable at different processing parameters such as various pH (3.0 – 7.0), temperature ranges (63 – 121 °C), and ionic strengths (0.1 – 1.0 M NaCl). Finally, antimicrobial activities, such as minimum inhibitory concentration was found with 50 µL, whereas minimum bactericidal concentration was observed to be 90 µL after 8 h contact time, against E. coli and B. subtilis strains.