EFFECT OF MOLECULAR WEIGHT, CHARGE AND HYDROPHOBICITY OF WHEY PEPTIDES ON ENCAPSULATION EFFICIENCY AND SURFACE PROPERTIES OF SOY LECITHIN-DERIVED NANOLIPOSOMES

Abstract

Encapsulation of peptides has been explored to enhance their stability, but there is a paucity of information on effects of peptide structural properties on encapsulation. Impact of the molecular properties, including molecular weight, net charge and hydrophobicity, on encapsulation efficiency (EE) and properties of nanoliposomes was studied. Soy lecithin-derived nanoliposomes were found to encapsulate whey peptide fractions with high EE of >80%. The net negatively charged peptide fraction had significantly lower EE, which can be attributed to electrostatic repulsion with phospholipid heads. Liposome properties (ζ-potential, particle diameter, polydispersity index) were not significantly altered by different peptide molecular weight ranges. Surface hydrophobicity and number of peptides per unit mass of the whey peptide fractions were also found to influence liposome properties. Based on FTIR analysis, the peptide net charge and hydrophobicity did not affect their distribution in nanoliposomes. These findings will support efforts towards designing encapsulated peptides with improved functional attributes.