Three fluid nozzle spray drying for co-encapsulation and controlled release of curcumin and resveratrol

This study reports the first time development of sodium alginate and carboxy methyl cellulose microparticles for co-delivery of curcumin and resveratrol through conventional two fluid nozzle (2FN) and three fluid nozzle (3FN) spray drying. More than 9% increase in loading capacity and encapsulation efficiency of bioactives was observed in microparticles formed through 3FN than from 2FN spray drying. Florescence imaging proved the formation of core-shell microparticles from 3FN spray drying. DSC and XRD pattern confirmed that encapsulation changes the crystallinity of bioactives to amorphous form. Controlled release of resveratrol encapsulated in the core of the microparticles produced from 3FN was evident in comparison with 2FN microparticles. Release kinetics of both bioactives best fit the Korsmeyer-Peppas model, explaining pseudo-Fickian diffusion mechanism for resveratrol from core and anomalous diffusion for curcumin from shell. Overall, results confirmed that the 3FN spray drying is a prospective commercially scalable approach for effective co-delivery of bioactive molecules.