Controlled Release of β-Carotene in β-Lactoglobulin–Dextran-Conjugated Nanoparticles’ in Vitro Digestion and Transport with Caco-2 Monolayers

Undesirable aggregation of nanoparticles stabilized by proteins may occur at the protein’s isoelectric point when the particle has zero net charge. Stability against aggregation of nanoparticles may be improved by reacting free amino groups with reducing sugars by the Maillard reaction. β-Lactoglobulin (BLG)–dextran conjugates were characterized by SDS-PAGE and CD. Nanoparticles (60–70 nm diameter) of β-carotene (BC) encapsulated by BLG or BLG–dextran were prepared by the homogenization–evaporation method. Both BLG and BLG–dextran nanoparticles appeared to be spherically shaped and uniformly dispersed by TEM. The stability and release of BC from the nanoparticles under simulated gastrointestinal conditions were evaluated. Dextran conjugation prevented the flocculation or aggregation of BLG–dextran particles at pH ∼4–5 compared to very large sized aggregates of BLG nanoparticles. The released contents of BC from BLG and BLG–dextran nanoparticles under acidic gastric conditions were 6.2 ± 0.9 and 5.4 ± 0.3%, respectively. The release of BC from BLG–dextran nanoparticles by trypsin digestion was 51.8 ± 4.3% of total encapsulated BC, and that from BLG nanoparticles was 60.9 ± 2.9%. Neither BLG–BC nanoparticles nor the Maillard-reacted BLG–dextran conjugates were cytotoxic to Caco-2 cells, even at 10 mg/mL. The apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) of Caco-2 cells to BC was improved by nanoencapsulation, compared to free BC suspension. The results indicate that BC-encapsulated β-lactoglobulin–dextran-conjugated nanoparticles are more stable to aggregation under gastric pH conditions with good release and permeability properties.