The effects of multi-scale molecules on physical properties, antioxidant capacity and in vitro release kinetics in the alpha-linolenic acid-loaded water-in-oil-in-water (W-1/O/W-2) microemulsion were revealed in this work. The glucose and carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC) solutions were selected as the internal aqueous phase (W-1) of the microemulsion, respectively, while the multi-scale molecules, such as sodium chloride (NaCl), glycine (Gly), glucose (Glu), CMC, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and sodium caseinate (SC), were added in the external aqueous phase (W-2) to balance the osmotic pressure and meanwhile their effects on the fluorescence property, antioxidant capacity and release kinetics were probed. Among these, the CMCw1-NaClw2 and Glu(w1)-CMCw2 microemulsion within the appropriate concentration range could dramatically increase the storage stability and antioxidant capacity by inhibiting the aggregation of droplets or Ostwald ripening, while the addition of Gly and SC had the negative effect on the stability of microemulsion. Finally, the release kinetic dates were fitted and the Koismeyer-Peppas equation was considered as the most suitable to explain the ALA release kinetics that were controlled by diffusion and erosion in the simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH = 2.0) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH = 6.8). The application of release kinetic models in nutrient nano-delivery systems could facilitate the investigation on the release mechanism of nutritional components. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.
