Improved stability and biocompatibility of lycopene liposomes with sodium caseinate and PEG coating.

In this study, novel surface-modified lycopene liposomes were prepared for functional food applications, with systematic comparison of their physicochemical characteristics and biological evaluation. In contrast to whey protein isolate/polyethylene glycol layer-by-layer assembled lycopene liposomes (Lips-LYC/WPI) and PEGylated lycopene liposomes (LYC Lips), sodium caseinate/polyethylene glycol layer-by-layer assembled lycopene liposomes (Lips-LYC/SC) exhibited significantly reduced particle size and improved stability. Besides, Lips-LYC/SC highlighted enhanced encapsulation efficiency and minimized lycopene leakage attributed to sodium caseinate modification. DSC and PXRD confirmed effective reduction of lycopene crystallinity through excipient interaction, which was conducive to its water solubility improvement. FT-IR and fluorescence analysis revealed intermolecular hydrogen bonding between lycopene and the excipients. Furthermore, DPPH antioxidant and ROS scavenging experiments showed that the encapsulation of lycopene effectively improved its antioxidant activity. Cytotoxicity test revealed that Lips-LYC/SC had minimal cytotoxicity towards LO2 cells and Caco-2 cells, achieving cell survival rates >90 %, while the cell scratch results confirmed that LYC Lips induced significantly slower migration rates towards these cells. Moreover, Lips-LYC/SC significantly ameliorated metabolic disorders, oxidative stress, and hepatotoxicity in HFD-induced liver injury model. The above results highlighted the strategic advantage of sodium caseinate and PEG co-decorated liposomes, establishing Lips-LYC/SC as a promising delivery platform for the hydrophobic bioactive ingredient.