An Overview Focusing on Food Liposomes and Their Stability to Electric Fields

Liposomes provide protection, transport, and delivery systems for drugs and functional ingredients. This review studied liposome-based functional ingredients, effects of electric fields on lipid membranes, methods to determine the degree of electroporation, and some governing equations of the electroporation phenomenon. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of some aspects to consider when designing and manufacturing food liposomes that are stable in electric fields; this was based on studies conducted in medicine, pharmacology, and the food industry. The effects of pulsed electric fields and high voltage electrical discharge processing on phospholipid membranes were studied; these can be extrapolated to liposomes under food processing conditions using electric fields. The chemical compositions of the lipid membrane and adding layers to the liposome surface were related to higher electrical resistance. Fluorescence, impedance, conductivity, and voltage methods were defined to determine the degree of electroporation and mathematical models that can facilitate the analysis of the mechanism. Finally, the study of the electrical properties used by the different materials to manufacture liposomes remains for future research.

Automated summary

This review explores the use of liposomes as protection and delivery systems for drugs and functional ingredients. It discusses the effects of electric fields on lipid membranes, methods to determine the extent of electroporation, and mathematical models to analyze the mechanism. The study aims to provide insights for designing stable food liposomes under electric fields, drawing from research done in medicine, pharmacology, and the food industry.