Zein-hyaluronic acid binary complex as a delivery vehicle of quercetagetin: Fabrication, structural characterization, physicochemical stability and in vitro release property

The antisolvent coprecipitation method was utilized for fabricating the zein and hyaluronic acid complex at different mass ratios (100:5, 100:10, 100:15, 100:20, 100:25 and 100:30). Results showed that negatively charged zein-hyaluronic acid complex with small size (181.5 nm) was formed through the driving force of electrostatic attraction, followed by hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic effects. The incorporation of hyaluronic acid led to conformational change of zein, and improved its physical and thermal stability. Native hyaluronic acid showed a three-dimensional network structure, while zein-hyaluronic acid binary complex exhibited two different microstructures, including nanoparticles (zein:hyaluronic acid, above 100:20) and particle-filled-microgel (zein:hyaluronic acid, below 100:20). In addition, zein-hyaluronic acid complex was designed as a new delivery vehicle to anti-thermal degradation and control release of quercetagetin. These findings indicated that zein-hyaluronic acid complex would be a useful and promising delivery vehicle for embedding and protecting bioactive compounds.