Preparation of stable microcapsules from disrupted cell of Haematococcus pluvialis by spray drying

Haematococcus pluvialis, including astaxanthin, disrupted by high-pressure homogenisation was microencapsulated with Maillard reaction products as wall materials by spray drying. The microcapsules were characterised by scanning electron microscope, size analysis and also the storage stability. The optimised cell disruption process for H.pluvialis based on response surface optimisation was 70MPa of pressure, 7.38% of H.pluvialis concentration and homogenisation once with a disruption rate of 98.96 +/- 0.12%. The optimised spray drying process consisted of a wall-to-core material ratio of 2.4:1, inlet temperature of 180 degrees C and outlet temperature of 80 degrees C with a microencapsulation rate and microcapsule production rate of (92.1 +/- 0.1)% and (97.7 +/- 0.2)%, respectively. Characterisation and stability test showed that this microencapsulation process ensured the stability of astaxanthin.