Plant-Based Nanoparticles Prepared from Proteins and Phospholipids Consisting of a Core Multilayer-Shell Structure: Fabrication, Stability, and Foamability

Gliadin-phospholipid hybrid nanoparticles with a core-multilayered-shell internal structure were fabricated using a coassembly approach based on antisolvent coprecipitation. The mean particle diameters of the nanoparticles depended on their composition, increasing from 78 to 145 nm as the mass ratio of gliadin to phospholipid (G/P) increased from 7:3 to 3:7. The hybrid nanoparticles had better pH, salt, and thermal stabilities than simple gliadin nanoparticles. Hybrid nanoparticles with the highest phospholipid fraction (G/P 3:7) had the best pH, salt, and thermal stabilities, remaining stable from pH 3 to 8, from 0 to 300 mmol/L NaCl, and when boiled at pH 4 or 5 for 90 min. Hybrid nanoparticles also had better foam-formation and stability characteristics than gliadin nanoparticles, particularly at the highest phospholipid level. The structured nanoparticles developed in this study may therefore be useful for application in commercial products, for example, as delivery systems, emulsifiers, or foaming agents.