Use of milk protein and maltodextrin in the microencapsulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus: a model approach

The microcapsules containing the Lactobacillus acidophilus La-5 probiotic were obtained by spray drying technique, using maltodextrin and milk powder concentrate as encapsulating agents, whose conditions were optimized using Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD), obtaining maximum performance with yield 87,59 +/- 0,27% employing the inlet air temperature of 100 to 106 degrees C and maltodextrin concentration between 21 to 23.7% (w v(-1)). The microcapsules revealed by optical microscopy as spherical and homogeneous particles with varying diameters. The results in differential scanning calorimetry corroborate with the optical microscopy for the formation of microcapsules.