Physicochemical stability and functional properties of selenium nanoparticles stabilized by chitosan, carrageenan, and gum Arabic

To meet the increasing demand for polysaccharide-stabilized selenium nanoparticles (PS-Se degrees NPs) for industrial applications, in this study, we employed three commonly-used polysaccharides (i.e. chitosan (CS), carrageenan (Cg) and Gum Arabic (GA)) to fabricate Se degrees NPs, and compared their functional properties and their physicochemical stabilities, under varying conditions (ionic strength, pH, and temperature). The results showed that CS-SeNPs had higher storage stability but easily aggregated in 500 mM NaCl or at pH > 8 because of their surface cationic groups. This, however, improved their DPPH free radical scavenging and antitumor activities. Compared to CS-SeNPs, the anionic groups in Cg-Se degrees NPs increased their resistant to pH variations and reduced cellular toxicity, and the multi-branched structure of GA-Se degrees NPs increased their thermal stability. Overall, this study shows that the behaviors of PS-SeNPs depends mainly on ionizable functional groups and the structure of polysaccharides, contributing to the development of PS-Se degrees NPs with applicability in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Automated summary

The study demonstrated that the behaviors of polysaccharide-stabilized selenium nanoparticles depend mainly on ionizable functional groups and the structure of polysaccharides, which could have potential applications in the food and pharmaceutical industries.