Inclusion complexation and coacervation to fabricate nanoencapsulated foods

Abstract

The development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has revolutionized every sphere of human life - Food, water, shelter, and clothing. To meet the changing food demands, increase the shelf life and durability of the fragile food items, encapsulation is carried out. The chapter aims to throw light on the need for nanoencapsulation in the food industry, the merits, and demerits of employing nanotechnology in the food industry. Various nanoencapsulation techniques have been discussed with special focus on coacervation and inclusion complexation methodologies. These are the two simplest techniques which make the encapsulation process facile and quick. Coacervation process is a colloidal phenomenon which is sub-divided into simple and complex coacervation. Inclusion complexation works on the concept of host-guest chemistry, using the lock and key mechanism. An attempt has been made to give a deep insight into these processes, describing their types, advantages and the factors influencing them. A brief overview of literature has also been done to give a glimpse of the use of these two techniques in the current research arena.