Nanofiber encapsulation of probiotic cultures via electrospinning: fabrication and quality compliance with ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO 22117 standards

Probiotics offer numerous health benefits, including inhibiting pathogenic growth, supporting intestinal microbiota, and synthesizing essential biomolecules. However, their viability during storage remains a challenge due to sensitivity to environmental conditions. This study investigates the encapsulation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers via electrospinning to enhance stability and viability. Near-optimized electrospinning parameters, including solution concentration, voltage, and collector distance, were used to produce nanofibers, which were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The results showed non-uniform fiber diameter distributions, with 16 kV producing thicker fibers with an average diameter of 479.11 nm. Homogeneity assessment confirmed uniform probiotic distribution within the nanofibers, with a coefficient of variation of 5.3%. Storage stability tests at 4°C over 15 days were conducted following ISO/IEC 17043 and ISO 22117 standards. The findings demonstrated that encapsulation effectively preserved L. rhamnosus viability in 16LR/PVA nanofibers, whereas L. acidophilus exhibited reduced viability at both 10 kV and 16 kV.