Stabilization of Liposome-Encapsulated Food Ingredients Using Bacterial S-Layer Proteins

Abstract

Many different oral delivery systems have been developed to protect food ingredients from degradation occurring in the harsh environmental conditions of the gastrointestinal tract, and liposomes are among the safest ones. However, because of their intrinsic tendency to aggregate and/or fuse, some strategies should be used to improve their features. In this sense, bacterial S-layer proteins (SLPs) have been used to stabilize liposomes due to their ability to reassemble as a rigid nanostructured lattice covering different surfaces.In this chapter, we will describe the experimental protocols to prepare and characterize SLP-coatedmultilamellar lipid vesicles which can be applied to the encapsulation of food ingredients.