A Comparative Analysis of Different Grades of Silica Particles and Temperature Variants of Food-Grade Silica Nanoparticles for Their Physicochemical Properties and Effect on Trypsin

While silica particles are used extensively in food products, different grades and temperature variants of silica particles have not been compared for their physiochemical and biological properties. Different grades of silica (food-grade nanoparticles (FG-NPs), nonfood-grade nanoparticles (NFG-NPs), and food-grade micron particles (FG-MPs)) and the temperature variants generated by exposing FG-NPs to wet heating, dry heating, and refrigeration were compared for their physicochemical properties and interaction with trypsin. FG-NPs were similar to NFG-NPs and FG-MPs in their elemental composition and amorphous nature but had relatively less branched and ring siloxane groups than the latter ones. There were subtle but noticeable changes in the agglomeration behavior and relative abundance of different silica groups in FG-NPs exposed to food-handling temperatures. Secondary structure and function of trypsin were negatively impacted by FG-NPs and their temperature variants. Silica particles showed a “mixed-type inhibition” of trypsin resulting in partial digestion of bovine serum albumin. In conclusion, our studies showed differences in the surface chemistry of different grades of silica particles and temperature variants of FG-NPs and their negative impact on the structure and function of trypsin.