The high porosity and specific surface area of aerogels offer an ideal platform for loading bioactive molecules. In the present study, the microstructure of the bio-based starch aerogels was modulated by the incorporation of chitosan. The starch hydrogel precursors were prepared from high amylose corn starch in the presence of 0, 0.50, and 0.75 wt% chitosan. Afterward, a green single-step simultaneous aerogel formation-curcumin deposition method was applied to impregnate curcumin into the aerogels through supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) drying technology. Composite starch/chitosan aerogels showed a more open porous structure and lighter weight than the neat starch counterpart. Confocal microscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy analysis confirmed curcumin molecules' attachment to the aerogels' hydrophobic cavities. The impregnation capacity was 24-27 mg curcumin per gram of aerogel depending on the composition of the aerogels. The loading of curcumin in the aerogels significantly enhanced the bioaccessibility of curcumin in the simulated gastrointestinal fluid by almost 30-fold when compared to the unloaded curcumin. Furthermore, the bioaccessibility of the curcumin loaded in starch-chitosan composite aerogels was higher than that in neat starch aerogels. While unloaded curcumin showed an undetectable intestinal Caco-2 cell transportation, curcumin-loaded aerogels revealed a cumulative curcumin passing of 0.15-0.23 μg/mL.
Keywords: Aerogel; Bioaccessibility; Curcumin; Green; Supercritical carbon dioxide.
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