Design and fabrication of a tellurite hollow-core anti-resonant fiber for mid-infrared applications.

The hollow core anti-resonant fibers (HC-ARFs) based on soft glass are in high demand for 3-6 µm laser delivery. A HC-ARF based on tellurite glass with 6 touching capillaries as cladding was designed and fabricated for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. A relatively low loss of 3.75 dB/m at 4.45 µm was realized in it. The effects of capillary number, core diameter, wall thickness of capillary, and material absorption loss on the loss of the HC-ARF were analyzed by the numerically simulation. The output beam quality was measured and the influence of bending on the fiber loss was discussed. The results of numerical simulation suggested that the theoretical loss of the prepared fiber can be reduced to 0.1 dB/m, indicating that tellurite HC-ARFs have great potential for mid-infrared laser applications.

pH­responsive nanozyme cascade catalysis: A strategy of BiVO4 application for modulation of pathological wound microenvironment.

Persistent inflammation and bacterial infection commonly occur during the wound healing process, necessitating urgent development of effective strategies for treating drug-resistant bacterial infections. In this study, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) was successfully synthesized as an antibacterial agent that promotes wound healing. Through In vitro antibacterial experiments, it was observed that the prepared BiVO4 exhibited excellent performance in catalyzing H2O2 to produce hydroxyl radicals (OH) at a lower concentration (0.2 mg mL-1), resulting in significant antibacterial effects against Gram-negative Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamases-Producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-E. coli) strains. Furthermore, biosafety tests, cell scratch experiments, and ESBL-E. coli infected wound rat model experiments demonstrated high biocompatibility of BiVO4 with a cell survival rate exceeding 85 %. Additionally, BiVO4 promoted the production of vascular endothelial growth factors and fibroblasts migration while contributing to collagen production, effectively facilitating immune reconstruction at the wound site. By integrating peroxidase (POD)-like under acidic conditions (pH 4) and catalase (CAT)-like catalytic activities at under neutral conditions (pH 7), BiVO4 exhibited the ability to activate free radical sterilization and accelerate wound healing by activating O2. Therefore, our findings provide evidence for a dual enzyme regulatory mechanism involving antibacterial properties and promotion of wound tissue reconstruction for potential application in both antibacterial treatment and wound healing.

Explore the durability of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation in treating post-traumatic stress disorder: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.

The objective was to synthesize results from studies that assessed symptom relief after repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and investigate the long-term effectiveness of rTMS for treating PTSD. We searched multiple databases for relevant randomized controlled trials of rTMS for PTSD treatment up to 1 January 2023. Two researchers evaluated the studies and focused on the CAPS and PCL as outcome indicators. We used STATA17 SE software for the data analysis. Eight articles involving 309 PTSD patients were analysed in a meta-analysis, which found that rTMS had a significant and large effect on reducing core post-traumatic symptoms [Hedges'g = 1.75, 95% CI (1.18, 2.33)]. Both low and high-frequency rTMS also significantly reduced symptoms, with the latter having a greater effect. rTMS was shown to have a long-term effect on PTSD, with all three subgroup analyses demonstrating significant results. Interestingly, no significant difference in symptom relief was found between the follow-up and completion of treatments [Hedges'g = 0.01, 95% CI (-0.30, 0.33)], suggesting that the treatment effect of rTMS is stable. The meta-analysis provides strong evidence that rTMS is effective in reducing the severity and symptoms of PTSD in patients, and follow-up studies confirm its long-term stability.

Defect-Engineering-Mediated Long-Lived Charge-Transfer Excited-State in Fe-Gallate Complex Improves Iron Cycle and Enables Sustainable Fenton-Like Reaction.

Fenton reactions are inefficient because the Fe(II) catalyst cannot be recycled in time due to the lack of a rapid electron transport pathway. This results in huge H2 O2 wastage in industrial applications. Here, it is shown that a sustainable heterogeneous Fenton system is attainable by enhancing the ligand-to-metal charge-transfer (LMCT) excited-state lifetime in Fe-gallate complex. By engineering oxygen defects in the complex, the lifetime is improved from 10-90 ps. The lengthened lifetime ensures sufficient concentrations of excited-states for an efficient Fe cycle, realizing previously unattainable H2 O2 activation kinetics and hydroxyl radical (• OH) productivity. Spectroscopic and electrochemical studies show the cyclic reaction mechanism involves in situ Fe(II) regeneration and synchronous supply of oxygen atoms from water to recover dissociated Fe─O bonds. Trace amounts of this catalyst effectively destroy two drug-resistant bacteria even after eight reaction cycles. This work reveals the link among LMCT excited-state lifetime, Fe cycle, and catalytic activity and stability, with implications for de novo design of efficient and sustainable Fenton-like processes.

Fear of missing out and problematic smartphone use among Chinese college students: The roles of positive and negative metacognitions about smartphone use and optimism.

BACKGROUND: Problematic smartphone use (PSU) has become a common phenomenon among college students. Fear of missing out (FoMO) is an important factor affecting PSU, but how FoMO affects PSU is not clear. Therefore, the mediating effect of positive and negative metacognitions about smartphone use (PMSU and NMSU) and the moderating effect of optimism are explored. METHODS: 514 Chinese college students aged 17 to 25 from 6 Chinese universities were investigated with the Trait-State FoMO Scale, the Metacognitions about Smartphone Use Questionnaire, the Temperament Optimism Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale for College Students. The data were analyzed with SPSS software. RESULTS: FoMO was positively associated with PSU, PMSU and NMSU mediated this association. Optimism moderated the relationship between FoMO and PSU, i.e., FoMO had a less prominent positive effect on PSU for college students with a high level of optimism. CONCLUSIONS: There is a positive relationship which exists between FoMO and PSU among college students. In addition, PMSU and NMSU play mediating roles in FoMO and PSU, and optimism plays an moderating role in FoMO and PSU. These findings can help not only educators understand the predictors of PSU and develop interventions to effectively prevent PSU among college students but also college students reduce the level of PSU by improving their understanding of PMSU and NMSU and optimism level.

Corrigendum: Comparing the efficacy of different types of exercise for the treatment and prevention of depression in youths: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1199510.].

The Unconscious Tug-of-War: Exploring the Effect of Stimulus Selection Bias on Creative Problem Solving with Multiple Unconscious Stimuli.

Objective: This study innovatively investigated the potential selection bias involved in processing multiple subliminal stimuli during creative problem-solving (CPS). It addresses the existing gap in specialized research on how the handling of multiple unconscious stimuli influences higher-order cognitive processes, particularly creativity. Methods: The study utilized a masked priming paradigm and a remote association task (RAT). Two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 presented two stimuli simultaneously, with one being the correct answer, to examine whether there was a bias in the location of subliminal stimuli. In Experiment 2, two stimuli were presented sequentially, with one serving as the answer, to investigate whether there was a temporal bias in unconscious processing. Results: Our findings revealed that when solving easy RATs, subliminal stimuli presented on the left side had a negative priming effect compared to the right side. The results revealed that unconscious processing of subliminal stimuli enhanced performance on difficult CPS. Additionally, a temporal bias was observed, with more recent subliminal stimuli having a stronger effect than earlier stimuli. Conclusion: Unconscious processing can improve CPS, especially for difficult tasks, and there is a bias towards processing stimuli on the left and more recently presented stimuli. These findings contribute to our understanding of unconscious processing, particularly the processing of multiple subliminal stimuli in CPS, and provide insights into the biases that exist in unconscious processing.

Synthesis of γ-Cyclodextrin-Reduced Fe(III) Nanoparticles with Peroxidase-like Catalytic Activity for Bacteriostasis of Food.

Foodborne pathogens are a primary cause of human foodborne illness, making it imperative to explore novel antibacterial strategies for their control. In this study, Fe-γ-CD was successfully synthesized as a food antibacterial agent for use in milk and orange juice. The Fe-γ-CD consists of 6/11 Fe(II) and 5/11 Fe(III), which catalyze a Fenton-like catalytic reaction with H2O2 to generate •OH. Consequently, Fe-γ-CD exhibits exceptional peroxidase-like activity and broad-spectrum antibacterial efficacy. Fe-γ-CD not only disrupts the wall structure of ESBL-E. coli but also induces protein leakage and genetic destruction, ultimately leading to its death. Furthermore, Fe-γ-CD inhibits biofilm formation by MRSA and eradicates mature biofilms, resulting in MRSA's demise. Importantly, Fe-γ-CD demonstrates negligible cytotoxicity toward normal mammalian cells, making it an ideal candidate for application as an antibacterial agent in foodstuffs. These findings highlight that Fe-γ-CD is an effective tool for combating the spread of foodborne pathogens and food safety.

Comparing the efficacy of different types of exercise for the treatment and prevention of depression in youths: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Purpose: Depression disorder is the most commonly diagnosed type of mental illness among youths. Although a plethora of evidence suggests a positive relationship between exercise and lower levels of depression in youths, the findings regarding the variation in magnitude of this relationship are inconclusive with respect to the preventive and therapeutic effects of different types of exercise. This network meta-analysis aimed to determine the best type of exercise for the treatment and prevention of depression in youths. Methods: A comprehensive search of databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, PsychINFO, ProQuest, Wanfang, and CNKI, was conducted to identify relevant research on exercise interventions for depression in youth populations. The risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using Cochrane Review Manager 5.4 according to the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 Methodological Quality Evaluation Criteria. The network meta-analysis was performed using STATA 15.1 to calculate the standardized mean difference (SMD) of all concerned outcomes. The node-splitting method was used to test the local inconsistency of the network meta-analysis. Funnel plots were used to evaluate the potential impact of bias in this study. Result: Utilizing data extracted from 58 studies (10 countries, 4,887 participants), we found that for depressed youths, exercise is significantly better than usual care in reducing anxiety (SMD = -0.98, 95% CI [-1.50, -0.45]). For non-depressed youths, exercise is significantly better than usual care in reducing anxiety (SMD = -0.47, 95% CI [ -0.66, -0.29]). In the treatment of depression, resistance exercise (SMD = -1.30, 95% CI [ -1.96, -0.64]), aerobic exercise (SMD = -0.83, 95% CI [-1.10 -0.72]), mixed exercise (SMD = -0.67, 95% CI [-0.99, -0.35]), and mind-body exercise (SMD = -0.61, 95% CI [-0.84, -0.38]) all showed significant efficacy over usual care. For the prevention of depression, resistance exercise (SMD = -1.18, 95% CI [-1.65, -0.71]), aerobic exercise (SMD = -0.72, 95% CI [-0.98, -0.47]), mind-body exercise (SMD = -0.59, 95% CI [-0.93, -0.26]), and mixed exercise (SMD = -1.06, 95% CI [-1.37 to -0.75]) were all significantly effective compared to usual care. According to the test of the surface under the cumulative ranking score (SUCRA), the ranking of exercises for the treatment of depression in depressed youths is as follows: resistance exercise (94.9%) > aerobic exercise (75.1%) > mixed exercise (43.8%) > mind-body exercise (36.2%) > usual care (0%). For the prevention of depression in non-depressed youths, resistance exercise (90.3%) > mixed exercise (81.6%) > aerobic exercise (45.5%) > mind-body exercise (32.6%) > usual care (0%). Resistance exercise thus had the best comprehensive effect on both the treatment and prevention of depression in youths (clusterank value = 1914.04). Subgroup analyses show that a frequency of 3-4 times per week, a duration of 30-60 min, and a length of more than 6 weeks were found to be the most effective interventions for depression (P > 0.001). Conclusion: This study provides compelling evidence that exercise is a viable intervention for improving depression and anxiety in young individuals. In addition, the study emphasizes the importance of selecting the appropriate type of exercise to optimize treatment and prevention. Specifically, the results suggest that resistance exercise, performed 3-4 times per week, with sessions lasting 30-60 min and a length of more than 6 weeks, yields optimal results for the treatment and prevention of depression in young individuals. These findings have significant implications for clinical practice, particularly given the challenges associated with implementing effective interventions and the economic burden of treating and preventing depression in young people. However, it is worth noting that additional head-to-head studies are necessary to confirm these findings and strengthen the evidence base. Nevertheless, this study provides valuable insights into the role of exercise as a potential treatment and preventative measure for depression in young people. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=374154, identifier: 374154.

Mixed comparison of interventions for different exercise types on students with Internet addiction: a network meta-analysis.

Background: Internet addiction (IA) has a significant negative impact on students. The condition of students with IA can be improved by exercise, which has been identified as an effective intervention strategy. However, the relative effectiveness of different exercise types and the most effective ones remains unknown. This study presents a network meta-analysis to compare six exercise types (team sport, double sport, single sport, team + double sport, team + single sport, and team + double + single sport) based on their effectiveness in reducing Internet addiction and maintaining mental health. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wan Fang, CQVIP, Web of Science, CBM, EBSCO, APA PsycNet, and Scopus, and all relevant studies from the beginning to 15 July 2022 were included on. According to the Cochrane Handbook 5.1.0 Methodological Quality Evaluation Criteria, the listed studies' bias risk was assessed, while the network meta-analysis was performed using STATA 16.0. Results: A total of 39 randomized controlled trials that met all inclusion criteria including 2,408 students with IA were examined. The meta-analysis results showed that compared with the control group, exercising significantly improved loneliness, anxiety, depression, and interpersonal sensitivity (p < 0.05). Specifically, the network meta-analysis discovered that the single sport, team sport, double sport, team + double sport, and team + double + single sport had significant effects on improving Internet addiction as compared to the respective control group (p < 0.05); the single sport, team sport, and double sport tend to be effective compared with controls in improving mental health (p < 0.05). Compared with the other five types of sports, the double sport was ranked first and showed the greatest potential to be the best choice (cluster ranking value = 3699.73) in improving Internet addiction (SUCRA = 85.5) and mental health (SUCRA = 93.1). Conclusion: Exercise could be suggested as the best alternative when treating IA in students, based on the extensive positive effects of exercise on IA, anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, loneliness, and mental health in IA students. Double sport may be the best type of exercise for Internet-addicted students. However, to further examine the benefits of exercise for IA students, more research is required. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=377035, identifier: CRD42022377035.

The Relationship Between Cumulative Ecological Risk and Problematic Smartphone Use Among Chinese College Students: Based on Latent Profile Analysis.

The aim of the current study is to explore the number of classes of cumulative ecological risk with latent profile analysis. Furthermore, the relationships between the classes of cumulative ecological risk and problematic smartphone use (PSU) among 2050 Chinese college students were researched. The results showed that there are four latent classes of cumulative ecological risk among college students, namely, low risk - medium peer relationship risk group, medium risk - high belonging risk group, high identity risk - very high friend conflict risk group and high risk group, accounting for 11.71%, 30.54%, 9.75% and 48.00%, respectively. The number of the high risk group is the largest with the highest family risk, school risk, peer risk and social risk. The students in the medium risk - high belonging risk group have a particularly high risk of belonging, which should be paid attention to. The students in the low risk - medium peer relationship risk group are with a low level of ecological risk. The high identity risk - very high friend conflict risk group have the fewest students, indicating that only a few students have high school identity risk and very high risk of friend conflict. In addition, cumulative ecological risk is significantly positively correlated with PSU, and the PSU level of the high risk group is significantly higher than that of other groups. These findings indicate that there is considerable heterogeneity in cumulative ecological risk, and there is different correlation between cumulative ecological risk and PSU among college students. The current study not only enriches the biological ecological model, showing that the combined action of multiple ecological risks has a greater impact on PSU, but also provides a basis for classified intervention of college students of different classes.

Design and fabrication of a chalcogenide hollow-core anti-resonant fiber for mid-infrared applications.

Chalcogenide hollow-core anti-resonant fibers (HC-ARFs) are a promising propagation medium for high-power mid-infrared (3-5 µm) laser delivery, while their properties have not been well understood and their fabrications remain challenging. In this paper, we design a seven-hole chalcogenide HC-ARF with touching cladding capillaries, which was then fabricated from purified As40S60 glass by combining the "stack-and-draw" method with a dual gas path pressure control technique. In particular, we predict theoretically and confirm experimentally that such medium exhibits higher-order mode suppression properties and several low-loss transmission bands in the mid-infrared spectrum, with the measured fiber loss being as low as 1.29 dB/m at 4.79 µm. Our results pave the way for the fabrication and implication of various chalcogenide HC-ARFs in mid-infrared laser delivery systems.

Activity Regulating Strategies of Nanozymes for Biomedical Applications.

On accounts of the advantages of inherent high stability, ease of preparation and superior catalytic activities, nanozymes have attracted tremendous potential in diverse biomedical applications as alternatives to natural enzymes. Optimizing the activity of nanozymes is significant for widening and boosting the applications into practical level. As the research of the catalytic activity regulation strategies of nanozymes is boosting, it is essential to timely review, summarize, and analyze the advances in structure-activity relationships for further inspiring ingenious research into this prosperous area. Herein, the activity regulation methods of nanozymes in the recent 5 years are systematically summarized, including size and morphology, doping, vacancy, surface modification, and hybridization, followed by a discussion of the latest biomedical applications consisting of biosensing, antibacterial, and tumor therapy. Finally, the challenges and opportunities in this rapidly developing field is presented for inspiring more and more research into this infant yet promising area.

FeMoO4 nanospheres-based nanozymatic colorimetry for rapid and sensitive pyrophosphate detection.

Assays of pyrophosphate ion (PPi) are of remarkable biochemical significance due to their vital roles in the bioenergetic and metabolic processes or as disease indicators. Colorimetry is popular in the field of biosensing and detection because of its simplicity, speed and cost-effectiveness, but there is a lack of a suitable colorimetric probe. Herein, a novel colorimetric sensing platform has been established for the detection of pyrophosphate based on the FeMoO4-H2O2-3,3',5,5'-tetra-methylbenzidine (TMB) system. Compared with most previously reported iron-based nanozymes, the as-obtained FeMoO4 nanospheres with a rough surface possessed a much superior peroxidase-like catalytic activity (Vmax = 28.47 × 10-8 M s-1) and substrate affinity (Km = 0.174 mM) toward H2O2 catalysis. Due to the Fe(II) and PPi reaction, the presence of PPi could specifically restore blue oxidized TMB to colorless TMB, which led to a decrease in UV absorption at 652 nm. The absorbance change is proportional to the PPi concentration, with a linear detection range (from 0.5 to 25 µM) and a low detection limit of 0.3 µM (S/N = 3). Accordingly, its excellent selectivity and high sensitivity made it a potential colorimetric sensor for PPi analysis in actual water samples.

Direct femtosecond laser inscription of an IR fluorotellurite fiber Bragg grating.

This study proposes a novel, to the best of our knowledge, development of fluorotellurite glass fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). Shell-like morphology was achieved using a single femtosecond laser pulse illuminated through the fiber's polymer coating. Different FBG fabrication methods and parameters were systematically studied to optimize performance. The fluorotellurite FBG exhibited a high sensitivity to writing laser power and reflectivity saturation effect in repetitive writing. A low-insertion-loss fluorotellurite FBG with a reflectivity of over 99% and bandwidth of less than 1 nm was successfully inscribed. The flexible inscription methods can write an FBG at any wavelength in the fluorotellurite glass transparent window, and are applicable to infrared fiber lasers or sensors.

Self-assembled composite nanoparticles based on zein as delivery vehicles of curcumin: role of chondroitin sulfate.

Composite nanoparticles composed of zein and chondroitin sulfate (CS) were self-assembled by the method of antisolvent precipitation to deliver curcumin (ZCCNPs). The structure of ZCCNPs changed from spheres to microaggregates with the increase of CS, involving hydrogen bonding and electrostatic and hydrophobic effects. The resistance of ZCCNPs to degeneration was improved by CS. The encapsulation efficiency of curcumin was enhanced by CS and showed the maximum (91.97%) when the mass ratio of zein-to-CS was 1 : 1 (ZCCNPs1:1). The crystallinity of curcumin changed to amorphous in ZCCNPs1:1. ZCCNPs1:1 exhibited great stability at pH 3.0-8.0, and it showed excellent thermostability at 35, 55, and 80 °C respectively for 120 min when the pH was 4.0 or 6.0. Meanwhile, it showed great storage stability at 4 and 22 °C respectively for 30 days. The retention rate of curcumin in ZCCNPs1:1 was higher than 65% within 8 days. The presence of CS improved the antiproliferative activity of curcumin-loaded zein nanoparticles (Cur-ZNPs) to HCT116 cells. ZCCNPs1:1 exhibited higher bioaccessibility (42.36%) than Cur-ZNPs. In addition, ZCCNPs1:1 exhibited excellent biocompatibility evaluated using in vitro cytotoxicity assay on NCM460 cells. The studies indicate that the delivery system fabricated in our work would be efficient for improving the application of hydrophobic nutrients in functional foods.

Selective, highly efficient extraction of Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III) from complex water environment with a tea residue derived porous gel adsorbent.

A novel macroporous (~150 µm) double network hydrogel (TR/PAA) was prepared from tea residue and acrylic acid, and its performance was systematically evaluated. The static adsorption experiments showed that gel exhibited high selectivity and adsorption capacity, ultrafast kinetics (~10 min) for Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III). The adsorption behavior showed heterogeneous and chemisorption process adsorption capacities of 206.19, 253.16, and 94.88 mg g-1 for Cr(III), Pb(II) and Fe(III), respectively. In pluralistic systems, TR/PAA showed the adsorption order of Fe(III) > Cr(III) > Pb(II). Mechanism studies confirm that nitrogen and oxygen-containing functional groups play a major role in the adsorption process. In the fixed-bed column experiments, the treatment volume of simulated wastewater reached 1400 bed volumes (BV) (21.6 L), producing only 7 BV (323 mL) eluent. This work provides a new avenue for the combination of TR/PAA reuse and heavy metal removal, which is expected to be applied in actual wastewater treatment.

Chitosan reduces vitamin D bioaccessibility in food emulsions by binding to mixed micelles.

Consumption of sufficiently high quantities of dietary fibers has been linked to a range of health benefits. Recent research, however, has shown that some dietary fibers interfere with lipid digestion, which may reduce the bioavailability of oil-soluble vitamins and nutraceuticals. For this reason, we examined the impact of a cationic polysaccharide (chitosan) on the bioaccessibility of vitamin D using the standardized INFOGEST in vitro digestion model. The vitamin D was encapsulated within an emulsion-based delivery system that contained whey protein-coated corn oil droplets. Our results showed that chitosan promoted severe droplet flocculation in the small intestine and reduced the amount of free fatty acids detected using a pH-stat method. However, a back-titration of the digested sample showed that the lipids were fully digested at all chitosan levels used (0.1-0.5%), suggesting that chitosan may have bound some of the free fatty acids released during lipid digestion. The presence of the chitosan decreased the bioaccessibility of vitamin D by about 37%, but this effect did not depend strongly on chitosan concentration (0.1-0.5%). It was hypothesized that chitosan bound to the vitamin-loaded mixed micelles and promoted their precipitation. The knowledge gained in this study might provide useful insights in designing emulsion-based delivery systems with high vitamin bioaccessibility.

Fabrication and characterization of zein nanoparticles by dextran sulfate coating as vehicles for delivery of curcumin.

Zein nanoparticles (ZNPs) have limited use as a result of its poor colloidal stability. The goal of this paper is to stabilize ZNPs using a sulfated anionic polysaccharide-dextran sulfate (DS). Zein/DS composite nanoparticles (ZDSNPs) were fabricated by antisolvent precipitation method at pH 4.0 with an optimal zein-to-DS ratio of 1:2 (w/w). ZDSNPs exhibited good stability to pH, heating and storage. Additionally, ZDSNPs showed spherical structures formed primarily by electrostatic attractions, hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions. The incorporation of DS led to the change in secondary structure of zein. The surface hydrophobicity of ZNPs reduced owing to the deposition of DS. And ZDSNPs were basically nontoxic to normal colonic epithelial cell lines-NCM460 cell lines. ZDSNPs were successfully used to encapsulate curcumin. The encapsulation efficiency of curcumin-loaded ZDSNPs (ZDSCNPs) was 85.37%, which was significantly higher than that of curcumin-loaded ZNPs. In addition, ZDSCNPs exhibited improved storage stability and bioaccessibility of curcumin.

Fabrication and Characterization of Lutein-Loaded Nanoparticles Based on Zein and Sophorolipid: Enhancement of Water Solubility, Stability, and Bioaccessibility.

Lutein is a hydrophobic carotenoid with various beneficial biological activities. Its use as a functional food, however, is currently limited by its low-water solubility, chemical instability, and poor bioavailability. The purpose of this work is to fabricate lutein-loaded nanoparticles to overcome these challenges. Lutein was encapsulated in zein nanoparticles coated with sophorolipid (ZSLNPs). The properties of ZSLNPs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. The results showed that the ZSLNPs were spheres with particle size around 200 nm and negative surface potentials (ζ = -54 mV). The encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity of the lutein in the ZSLNPs was 90.04% and 0.82%, respectively. Infrared spectroscopy analysis indicated that the dominant driving forces of the ZSLNPs formation mainly included electrostatic, hydrophobic interactions and hydrogen bonding. X-ray analysis showed that the encapsulated lutein was in an amorphous form. Circular dichroism analysis suggested that the incorporation of lutein or sophorolipid led to the change in secondary structure of zein. In addition, the ZSLNPs had good stability, redispersibility, and increased the water solubility of lutein. Furthermore, in vitro studies showed that the ZSLNPs had great biocompatibility and bioaccessibility of lutein. Overall, these findings indicated that the core/shell nanoparticles developed in the work may be suitable for encapsulating this important nutrient in functional foods.