Microfluidic self-assembled polysaccharide@zein-curcumin ternary nanoparticles: Polysaccharide structure, functional properties and stabilization mechanisms.

Curcumin's (Cur) application in foods is hindered by its poor water solubility and instability. In this study, ternary Cur nanoparticles (TCNPs) composed of polysaccharide, Zein and Cur (Polysaccharide@Zein-Cur), were fabricated using a microfluidic platform with sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMCNa), sodium alginate (SA), Pectin, gum arabic (GA), and chondroitin sulfate (CS), respectively. Among these, the CS@Zein-Cur exhibited the highest encapsulation efficiency, superior hydrophilicity and excellent stability. Furthermore, it showed a release profile of gastric-phase retention followed by intestinal-phase release under in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion, increasing the in vitro bioaccessibility of Cur by 21-fold compared to free Cur. Combined multispectral, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations demonstrated that Cur was embedded in Zein via hydrophobic interactions, while CS stabilized the system through hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions. This study elucidates the structure-function relationship of polysaccharides in TCNPs, providing a rational strategy for delivering hydrophobic bioactives.