Spray Gelation of Ionic Polysaccharide Microgels

Biopolymeric microgels have attracted considerable interest in the food and pharmaceutical sectors due to their tunable physicochemical properties. This study presents a simple and efficient method for producing microgels with consistent characteristics in terms of the density, particle size, and morphological uniformity. Microgels were generated by spraying ionic polysaccharide solutions using a hand-held atomizer directly into a calcium ion-containing buffer, eliminating the need for additional thermal or mechanical processing. To validate the reproducibility and tunability of this method, pectin-based microgels were prepared under varying conditions, including the degree of methylation and amidation of pectin, cross-linker concentration, and pH. The microgels exhibited high batch-to-batch consistency across all preparation conditions. Overall, the proposed spray-gelation approach offers a robust platform for the reproducible fabrication of pectin microgels and serves as a reference for a broader application to other ionic polysaccharides.