Encapsulation of enzymes in food industry using spray drying: recent advances and process scale-ups

Abstract

Enzymes are widely used in the food industry due to their ability in improving the functional, sensory, and nutritional properties of food products. However, their poor stability under harsh industrial conditions and their compromised shelf-lives during long-term storage limit their applications. This review introduces typical enzymes and their functionality in the food industry and demonstrates spray drying as a promising approach for enzyme encapsulation. Recent studies on encapsulation of enzymes in the food industry using spray drying and the key achievements are summarized. The latest developments including the novel design of spray drying chambers, nozzle atomizers and advanced spray drying techniques are also analyzed and discussed in depth. In addition, the scale-up pathways connecting laboratory scale trials and industrial scale productions are illustrated, as most of the current studies have been limited to lab-scales. Enzyme encapsulation using spray drying is a versatile strategy to improve enzyme stability in an economical and industrial viable way. Various nozzle atomizers and drying chambers have recently been developed to increase process efficiency and product quality. A comprehensive understanding of the complex droplet-to-particle transformations during the drying process would be beneficial for both process optimization and scale-up design.

Graphical abstract

Highlights

• Encapsulation of enzyme using spray drying is a versatile approach for improving enzyme stability and shelf-life in food industry.

• This paper gives an overview of recent development and progress in enzyme encapsulation using spray drying.

• Emerging spray drying techniques and novel design of spray drying chambers and atomizers are summarized.

• Ex ante process simulations and technoeconomic analysis are also presented providing critical insights for commercial production of encapsulated enzymes.

Keywords:

• Encapsulation
• enzyme
• food industry
• scale-up
• spray drying
• stability

Acknowledgements

The project is funded by a collaborative research project supported by Bioproton Pty Ltd. at The Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland. The author would like to acknowledge scholarships and supports from The University of Queensland and Bioproton Pty Ltd., Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Author contributions

Y.W.: writing-original draft, formal analysis, writing-review & editing. Y.L.: writing-review & editing, writing-original draft. X.C., H.S.: Supervision, writing-review & editing. C.X.Z.: Supervision, conceptualization, writing-review & editing.

Disclosure statement

All authors declare no competing interest.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.