Using water-soluble chitosan for flavour microencapsulation in food industry

The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility of producing flavour microparticles, by means of water-soluble chitosan, considering all the advantages of this natural polymer (non-toxic, biocompatibility, biodegradability, anticholesterolemic), with or without a crosslinking agent (tripolyphosphate (TPP)). The microparticles were prepared by spray drying and characterized by their particle size, surface morphology and zeta potential. Structural analysis of the surface of the particles was performed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Significant differences were found in the surface structure of the crosslinked and non-crosslinked particles. Chemical characterization of the microparticles was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), the results being significant and proving the success of flavour microencapsulation. This work shows that it is possible to encapsulate peach flavours using water-soluble chitosan, through a spray-drying process.