Deciphering competitive interactions in hyaluronic acid-wheat germ gliadin-EGCG ternary nanoparticles: Multi-spectroscopic and computational insights into encapsulation and release.

This study investigated the relationships between intermolecular interactions, physicochemical properties, and EGCG release in ternary nanoparticles assembled from hyaluronic acid (HA), wheat germ gliadin (WGG), and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). Multi-spectroscopic analyses, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics simulations suggested that HA and EGCG interact with WGG through hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and π-π stacking and may occupy partially overlapping interaction regions. These competitive interactions were associated with composition-dependent changes in particle size and EGCG encapsulation efficiency. HWE-NPs also exhibited a faster EGCG release profile than WGG-EGCG nanoparticles (WE-NPs) under simulated gastrointestinal conditions. Overall, these findings suggest that competitive intermolecular interactions, in addition to cooperative associations, may represent an important factor regulating the encapsulation and release behavior of protein-polysaccharide-polyphenol ternary delivery systems.