Investigation of the properties of encapsulated hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs in whey protein microparticles

In this study, the amoxicillin (AMX) and rifampicin (RIF) were loaded into the whey protein (WP) to form the hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs loaded whey protein microparticles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images demonstrated that AMX addition increased the particle size, but RIF addition decreased the dimensions of the particles. The Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results showed that both drugs were successfully loaded into the protein. AMX and RIF were ultimately released from the WP microparticles after 1440 min, according to the drug release test. Two drugs exhibited the same behaviour, but in the first hour, AMX had more release than the RIF.