Optimization and antimicrobial efficacy of curcumin loaded solid lipid nanoparticles against foodborne bacteria in hamburger patty

Abstract The aim of the present study was to design a delivery system of curcumin (CU) loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (CU‐CSLNs) for evaluating the antimicrobial properties in hamburger patty. Solid lipid nanoparticle (SLN) was prepared through a homogenizing technique. A response surface methodology was applied to optimize the CU‐CSLNs to minimize the particle size (PS), polydispersity index (PDI), as well as to maximize the zeta potential to avoid aggregation of particles. The optimized sample revealed a spherical morphology under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) with particle sizes of 126.87 ± 0.94 nm and 0.21 ± 0.025 PDI. The zeta potential and encapsulation efficiency (EE %) were found to be −30 ± 0.3 mV and 99.96 ± 0.01%, respectively. The CSLNs exhibited higher in vitro antimicrobial effect (142 µg·ml −1 ) against Staphylococcus aureus and generic Escherichia coli as compared to free CU (1000 µg·ml −1 ). Finally, the CSLNs antimicrobial effect was tested in hamburger patty inoculated with foodborne pathogens during eight days of storage at 4 °C. The results indicated that CSLNs had a higher antimicrobial effect than free CU. This study provides insight into the preparation of the novel antimicrobial nanoparticles for food safety applications.