Preparation and characterization of ovomucin self‐assembly nanoparticles under glycerol compression for astaxanthin delivery: Sustained release and antioxidant activity

Astaxanthin (AST) is a natural hydrophobic nutrient with various biological activities, but its low solubility limits its application. In this study, self-assembly nanoparticles were prepared by ovomucin (OVM) and Ca²⁺ with the enhancement of glycerol to deliver AST. Glycerol compressed the particle size of nanoparticles from 175.7 ± 1.8 to 142.9 ± 0.6 nm, and the nanoparticles had a strong negative charge (-28.9 ± 0.6 mV). Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the successful encapsulation of AST in an amorphous form with a high encapsulation efficiency (82.9% ± 2.1%). Fourier transform infrared and circular dichroism analyses demonstrated that nanoparticles formation mainly involved electrostatic interactions and hydrophobic interactions. AST in nanoparticles presented excellent gastric juice resistance and sustained release ability, whereas free radical scavenging efficiency reached up to 75%. In addition, the nanoparticles had no apparent toxicity to cell viability. This study is expected to provide a new insight into the safe and efficient delivery of AST, while demonstrating the potential of OVM as a delivery carrier in the food and health industries.