Calcium Alginate Microspheres Research Articles

Co-immobilization of laccase-mediator system to catalyze the synthesis of theaflavins from tea polyphenols

The co-immobilized laccase-mediator system (LMS) has broad development prospects in the fields of biocatalysis, biochemistry, and environmental remediation. In this study, laccase and mediator molecules were co-immobilized in functionally modified calcium alginate microspheres to improve their catalytic activity and stability and to systematically characterize the physicochemical properties and evaluate the catalytic performance of the co-immobilized laccase-mediator system. The co-immobilized LMS was used to catalyze the synthesis of theaflavins (TFs) from tea polyphenols, improve the catalytic efficiency, realize the recycling of the system, and explore the safety of the catalytic products. The results showed that the catalytic efficiency of the co-immobilized LMS was significantly improved and the relative activity remained above 50% after 10 cycles. The in vitro safety of the catalytic product was verified by Human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell-related indexes. The results show that the co-immobilized laccase mediator system has great development potential in the industrial application of theaflavins.

Eco-friendly calcium alginate microspheres enable enhanced profile control and oil displacement

Polymer microspheres (PMs), such as polyacrylamide, have been widely applied for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), yet with environmental concerns. Here, we report a microfluid displacement technology containing a bio-based eco-friendly material, i.e., calcium alginate (CaAlg) microspheres for EOR. Two dominant mechanisms responsible for EOR over CaAlg fluid have been verified, including the microscopic oil displacement efficacy augmented by regulating capillary force (determined by the joint action of interfacial tension and wettability between different phases) and macroscopic sweep volume increment through profile control and mobility ratio reduction. This comprehensive effectiveness can be further impacted when the CaAlg microsphere is embellished ulteriorly by using appropriate amount of sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS). The core flooding and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tests demonstrate that CaAlg-SDS microsphere can balance the interphase property regulation (wettability alteration and IFT reduction) and rheology properties, enabling simultaneous profile control and oil displacement. Excessive introduction of SDS will have a negative impact on rheological properties, which is not favored for EOR. Our results show that the involvement of 4-mM SDS will provide the best behavior, with an EOR rate of 34.38%. This cost-effective and environmentally-friendly bio-microsphere-based microfluidic displacement technology is expected to achieve “green” oil recovery in future oilfield exploitation.

Controlled production of liposomes with novel microfluidic membrane emulsification for application of entrapping hydrophilic and lipophilic drugs

In view of the limitations in the reported methods for the preparation of liposomes, a new microfluidic membrane emulsification device was innovatively designed and fabricated to investigate the effects of prescription factors and process parameters on the formation of liposomes based on a liposome prescription suitable for encapsulating nucleotides. It was shown that precise control of liposome particle size can be achieved by adjusting prescription factors and process parameters, and the obtained liposomes have good stability. In this study, we efficiently encapsulated nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and honokiol to achieve co-delivery and graded release of hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, and its inhibitory activity against colon cancer cells was significantly higher than that of the free drug. What’s more, a new high-performance liquid chromatographic method was built up to determine the encapsulation rate of NMN liposomes, which would be useful for the development of NMN drug applications. Notably, we also extended the technique to drug delivery microsphere platform construction to achieve homogeneous and controllable preparation of high-viscosity calcium alginate microspheres. This study is a valuable guide for the construction of drug delivery system platforms and has promising applications.

Effect of lignocellulose/montmorillonite immobilized Bacillus sp. on monosodium glutamate wastewater.

A group of Bacillus sp. was extracted from monosodium glutamate wastewater. Lignocellulose/montmorillonite composite was selected as the carrier. Lignocellulose/montmorillonite composite immobilized Bacillus sp./calcium alginate microspheres were prepared by immobilized microorganism techniques. The microspheres were used to treat monosodium glutamate wastewater with significantly reduced ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentrations. The optimum preparation conditions of microspheres in the treatment of NH3-N and COD of monosodium glutamate wastewater were studied. The concentration of sodium alginate was 2.0 wt%, lignocellulose/montmorillonite was 0.06 wt%, Bacillus sp. was 1.0 wt%, CaCl2 solution was 2.0 wt%, coagulation time was 12h, and the removal capacities of NH3-N and COD were 44832 and 78345mg/L, respectively. The surface structure, element content, functional group change, and crystal structure of the microspheres were characterized by SEM, EDS, and other methods. The results showed that the -COOH in lignocellulose/montmorillonite and the -OH in the Bacillus sp. form intermolecular hydrogen bonds. The Si-O and Al-O bonds in lignocellulose/montmorillonite reacted with sodium ions in sodium alginate. New crystal structures appear inside the material after crosslinking, and the microspheres was formed. Thus, the study has shown that the microspheres were successfully prepared and contributes to the treatment of NH3-N and COD in monosodium glutamate wastewater. This work can provide an interesting strategy for the removal of COD and NH3-N in industrial wastewater by reasonably combining bio-physicochemical processes.

Encapsulation of activated carbon into calcium alginate microspheres toward granular-activated carbon adsorbents for elemental mercury capture from natural gas.

Activated carbon (AC) is an effective adsorbent for removing environmental pollutants. However, the traditional powder form of AC shows difficulty in handling during application which widely limits its utilization on the industrial scale. Herein, to avoid such limitation, traditional AC powder was encapsulated into calcium alginate (CA) microspheres. Calcium alginate/activated carbon (CAA) composite microspheres were prepared via cross-linking of sodium alginate/activated carbon composite solutions in a calcium chloride solution. Furthermore, in order to boost adsorption affinity of CAA composite microspheres toward elemental mercury (Hg°), ammonium iodide (NH4I)-treated calcium alginate/activated carbon (NCA) composite microspheres were obtained by a simple impregnation method using NH4I treatment. The morphological, structural, and textural properties of the microspheres were characterized and their Hg° adsorptive capacity was tested at different temperatures. Interestingly, the maximum adsorption capacity of NCA adsorbent composite microspheres was determined as 36,056.5μg/g at a flow rate of 250mL/min, temperature of 25°C, and 500μg/Nm3 of Hg° initial concentration. The Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) for NCA adsorbent composite microspheres varied from - 8.59 to - 10.54kJ/mol indicating a spontaneous adsorption process with an exothermic nature. The experimental Hg° breakthrough curve correlated well with Yoon‒Nelson and Thomas models. The breakthrough time (tb) and equilibrium time (te) were found to be 7.5days and 23days, respectively. Collectively, the findings of this work indicate a good feasibility of using NCA composite microspheres as potential adsorbents for removing Hg° from natural gas.

Preparation of thrombin-loaded calcium alginate microspheres with dual-mode imaging and study on their embolic properties in vivo

Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) has played a huge role in the interventional treatment of organ bleeding and accidental bleeding. Choosing bio-embolization materials with good biocompatibility is an important part of TAE. In this work, we prepared a calcium alginate embolic microsphere using high-voltage electrostatic droplet technology. The microsphere simultaneously encapsulated silver sulfide quantum dots (Ag2S QDs) and barium sulfate (BaSO4), and fixed thrombin on its surface. Thrombin can achieve an embolic effect while stopping bleeding. The embolic microsphere has good near-infrared two-zone (NIR-II) imaging and X-ray imaging effects, and the luminous effect of NIR-II is better than that of X-rays. This breaks the limitations of traditional embolic microspheres that only have X-ray imaging. And the microspheres have good biocompatibility and blood compatibility. Preliminary application results show that the microspheres can achieve a good embolization effect in the ear arteries of New Zealand white rabbits, and can be used as an effective material for arterial embolization and hemostasis. This work realizes the clinical embolization application of NIR-II combined with X-ray multimodal imaging technology in biomedical imaging, achieving complementary advantages and excellent results, more suitable for studying biological changes and clinical applications.

Litchi-like silver nanoparticles immobilized in microspheres for effective bacteriostasis, rapid hemostasis, and wound healing

Metal nanoparticles, particularly silver nanoparticles (AgNs), exhibit excellent antibacterial properties. However, their high mobility and Ag+ release rate can damage normal tissues and cells. Therefore, their application in wound healing is limited. Reducing Ag+ to AgNs using tannic acid (TA) and Fe complexes (TA/Fe) could effectively prevent the migration of AgNs and slow the release of Ag+ to achieve effective inhibition of bacteria. Ag+ was reduced to AgNs using TA/Fe coating on the surface of calcium alginate and silk fibroin peptide microspheres (CA/SP) to prepare novel litchi-like microspheres (CA/SP@AgNs). CA/SP@AgNs showed good biocompatibility. The growth and reproduction of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were completely inhibited at a CA/SP@AgNs concentration of 20 mg/mL. The redox reaction of Ag+ with TA/Fe resulted in the oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+. The hemostatic ability of CA/SP@AgNs was significantly enhanced owing to the good coagulation ability of TA/Fe3+ in the blood, which reduced the bleeding time and hemostatic volume of the femoral artery to 109 s and 0.115 g, respectively. Therefore, TA/Fe-modified microspheres are good carriers of AgNs that can be used for efficient bacteriostasis, rapid hemostasis, and wound healing.

Gelatin/alginate-based microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure for spatiotemporal manipulative drug release in gastrointestinal tract

Microsphere with sphere-in-capsule structure is a multi-drugs delivery system to achieve the purpose of combination therapy. In this paper, we have prepared gelatin/alginate-based microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure by a relatively fast, simple, and easily large-scale industrialized emulsification method for spatiotemporal manipulative drug release in gastrointestinal tract. Calcium alginate microspheres encapsulated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were first prepared as inner microspheres, and then inner microspheres and ranitidine hydrochloride (RH) were co-encapsulated by gelatin microspheres to form double-layer microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure. The size and distribution of microspheres can be easily controlled by emulsifying conditions. The microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure displayed desirable encapsulation efficiency of BSA (61.52 %) and RH (56.07 %). The in vitro simulated drug release showed the spatiotemporal release feature of microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure. In the specific simulated fluid, the release behavior and cumulative release of RH (sustainedly released 95 % in simulated gastric fluid) and BSA (rapidly released 73 % in simulated intestinal fluid) were different. The drug release mechanisms were analyzed to determine RH and BSA's release behavior. Overall, the microspheres with sphere-in-capsule structure have the potential application of spatiotemporal manipulative drug delivery in the gastrointestinal tract.

On-demand preparation of calcium alginate microspheres via piezoelectric microfluidics

Calcium alginate microspheres (CAMs) have attracted extensive attention as a novel drug carrier due to their cheapness, biodegradability, biocompatibility and nontoxicity. The existing preparation technologies of CAMs require complex process steps and involve multiple types of equipment, which are difficult to achieve the real-time and on-demand supply of microspheres in micro-reaction experiments. In this work, CAMs for prolonged drug release are prepared by the designed piezoelectric microfluidic devices using sodium alginate (NaAlg) and calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ). Specifically, the on-demand CAMs are synthesized timely by piezoelectric micro-jet followed by the transportation of piezoelectric micro-pump. Furthermore, various solution concentrations, main parameters of excitation signal and different nozzle diameters are evaluated in terms of size, morphology and drug release rate. The control method of CAMs’ size is obtained based on the multi-physics coupling analysis. Experimental results show that the doxorubicin hydrochloride loaded CAMs (DOX-CAMs) which can be prepared on demand, have excellent uniformity and dispersion, and the minimum average particle size is about 81.9 µm. The controlled drug release rate of DOX-CAMs reaches 83.2 % after 24 h. Moreover, the piezoelectric microfluidic devices and corresponding control methods may have potentials to be adapted for synthesizing other inorganic composite microspheres. • Piezoelectric microfluidics realize the timely supply of microspheres on demand. • The control strategy of microspheres was obtained by simulation analysis. • Preparation of high-quality microspheres with uniformity and dispersion. • Microspheres have excellent drug release performance.

The calcium alginate-immobilized Co-g-C3N4 composite microspheres as an efficient mediator to activate peroxymonosulfate for degrading organic pollutants

Poor water stability and difficult separation severely limited the application of Co-based catalysts in persulfate activation. Herein, for the first time, the calcium alginate-immobilized Co-g–C3N4–2 composite microspheres were prepared by a feasible method. Notably, embedding Co ion into g-C3N4 can improve its specific surface area and electrochemical activities. More significantly, as-prepared Co-g–C3N4–2 microsphere presented excellent catalytic performance in PMS activation for the degradation of TC. For the activation mechanisms of PMS over Co-g–C3N4–2 microspheres, the calcium alginate microspheres could mediate the direct electron transfer between TC and PMS, while both radical and nonradical pathways were involved in the activation of PMS over Co-g–C3N4–2. Meanwhile, SO4•−, OH•, O2•− and 1O2 were major reactive oxygen species formed in the Co-g–C3N4–2 microsphere/PMS system. Proposed Co-g–C3N4–2 microsphere/PMS system still exhibited great degradation ability towards TC over a wide pH range, and co-existing anions had weak influence on TC degradation over Co-g–C3N4–2 microsphere/PMS system. Moreover, the construction of Co-g–C3N4–2 microspheres not only avoided the release of metal ion from catalyst, but also provided convenience for the recovery of catalyst. In short, current work shared some novel insights into the application of heterogeneous catalysis in persulfate activation for wastewater treatment.

Applicability of alginate-based composite microspheres loaded with aqueous extract of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaves in food and pharmaceutical products

To preserve its favorable health and nutritional qualities under processing conditions and oral ingestion, Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni leaf aqueous extract was encapsulated in composite microspheres based on calcium alginate. The addition of other biopolymers to alginate (ALG) (xanthan gum (XG), casein (CA)) influenced molecular interactions (mainly hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions) between microsphere constituents causing the change in microsphere structure and thus physicochemical properties (encapsulation effectiveness and capacity, surface morphology, swelling, stability) as well as the release of total polyphenols (TPC) in distilled water, NaCl solutions and in simulated gastrointestinal fluids.The extent of crosslinking of calcium alginate was altered by blending with XG, CA, or XG + CA, but this did not affect the control mechanism of TPC release detected as diffusion. Results revealed the unsuitability of calcium alginate microspheres for implementation in food products with high water content, while composite microspheres showed desired reduction in TPC release. The best performance (the slowest release and the amount released) for implementation in functional food products containing NaCl exhibited composite microspheres with ALG + XG + CA. The desired prevention of microsphere degradation in simulated gastro fluids was achieved with ALG + XG + CA microspheres, while in simulated intestinal fluids all microspheres were decomposed and completely released TPC.

Development and Characterization of a Novel Soil Amendment Based on Biomass Fly Ash Encapsulated in Calcium Alginate Microspheres.

Biomass fly ash (BFA) from a biomass cogeneration plant was encapsulated into calcium alginate microspheres (ALG/Ca) and characterized. An FTIR analysis indicated that BFA loading weakened molecular interactions between ALG/Ca constituents (mainly hydrogen bonding and electrostatic interactions), thus changing the crosslinking density. SEM and AFM analyses revealed a wrinkled and rough surface with elongated and distorted granules. The in vitro release of BFA’s main components (K, Ca, and Mg) was controlled by diffusion through the gel-like matrix, but the kinetics and released amounts differed significantly. The smaller released amounts and slower release rates of Ca and Mg compared to K resulted from the differences in the solubility of their minerals as well as from the interactions of divalent cations with alginate chains. The physicochemical properties of the novel microsphere formulation reveal significant potential for the prolonged delivery of nutrients to crops in a safe manner.

PH-Responsive Calcium Alginate Microspheres Modified with Chitosan for Immobilization of Antibiotic Cefotaxime

pH-Responsive Calcium Alginate Microspheres Modified with Chitosan for Immobilization of Antibiotic Cefotaxime

Intravenous Calcium Alginate Microspheres as Drug Delivery Vehicles in Acute Kidney Injury Treatment.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common and severe problem associated with high morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. There are no reliable therapeutic interventions except dialysis that could improve survival, limit injury, or speed up recovery. Thus, it is essential to develop new therapies to treat AKI. Previous studies revealed that histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) could attenuate renal injury and enhance kidney recovery in AKI. However, the hydrophobic nature of HDACi, such as vorinostat (SAHA), requires organic solvents to promote its dissolution, leading to inevitable detrimental effects. Herein, calcium alginate microspheres (CAM) were prepared by the microfluidic method as HDACi carriers to treat AKI by intravenous injection. First, we designed the structure of the microfluidic channel for the fabrication of the PDMS microfluidic chip in which the emulsion state of droplets was analyzed. As the flow rate increases, the continuous phase changed from laminar flow to the dripping pattern in the microfluidic device. Then, the CAM was fabricated by a W/O microfluidic emulsion template and the size of the microspheres was adjusted from 3 to 7 μm by the concentration of alginate and the flow rate of the continuous phase and dispersal phase. The higher degree of cross-linking of sodium alginate with calcium ions would lead to longer drug release time but lower swelling rates. Furthermore, we selected CAM with suitable sizes as the HDACi carrier and delivered the HDACi-loaded CAM to the AKI mice by intravenous tail injection. The in vivo results showed that the HDACi-loaded CAM could effectively reduce the renal regional inflammatory response and attenuate renal injury.

Swelling of Multilayered Calcium Alginate Microspheres for Drug-Loaded Dressing Induced Rapid Lidocaine Release for Better Pain Control.

The development of effective drug-loaded dressings has been considered a hot research topic for biomedical therapeutics, including the use of botanical compounds. For wound healing, adequate dressings can provide a good microenvironment for drug release, such as lidocaine. Biological macromolecular materials such as alginate show excellent properties in wound management. This study involves the preparation and evaluation of biocompatible multilayered-structure microspheres composed of chitosan, porous gelatin, and calcium alginate microspheres. The multilayered structure microspheres were named chitosan@ porous gelatin@ calcium alginate microspheres (CPAMs) and the drugs were rapidly released by the volume expansion of the calcium alginate microspheres. The in vitro release curve revealed that the peak release of lidocaine from CPAMs was reached within 18[Formula: see text]min. After 21[Formula: see text]min, the remaining lidocaine was then slowly released, and the active drug release was converted to a passive drug release phase. The initial release effect of lidocaine was much better than that reported in the published studies. Additionally, blood coagulation experiments showed that CPAMs coagulated blood in 60[Formula: see text]s, and the blood liquidity of the CPAMs group was worse than that of the woundplast group. Therefore, the coagulation characteristics of CPAMs were superior to the commonly used woundplast containing lidocaine healing gel. These study outcomes indicated that the CPAMs acted as fast-release dressings for faster pain control and better coagulation properties.

A cleaning and reusable biochemical degumming method for hemp fibers through immobilized pectinase lyase on calcium alginate microspheres

A biochemical degumming solution (chemical auxiliaries & CA-PL) can be used twice; the chemical auxiliaries swelled the fibers and CA-PL acted on the pectin layer to extract cellulose.

Removal of As(V) from aqueous solutions using calcium-alginate microspheres with encapsulated iron nanoparticles

Abstract This work investigated As(V) removal from aqueous solutions using calcium alginate microspheres with encapsulated iron nanoparticles (FeNPs) in batch systems. The kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process were evaluated. Adsorbents were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy, and Zeta Potential techniques. The FeNPs were obtained by a simple and low-cost method and they were successfully encapsulated and uniformly dispersed over the microspheres' surface. Significantly fast adsorption kinetic rates were observed due to microspheres' particle size and FeNPs encapsulation. The chemisorption mechanism was recognized in both adsorbate-adsorbent systems. The As(V) isotherms data suggested that the process is associated with heterogeneous adsorption. Available sorption sites with different adsorption energies were related to the functional groups involved in removing As(V), such as hydroxyl and carboxyl groups. Significantly high adsorption capacities were obtained for both materials, suggesting they can be competitive compared to conventional adsorbents, even at low FeNPs concentrations. Besides FeNPs encapsulation enhancing arsenate removal, higher adsorption was obtained at slightly acidic pH values and, together with their small particle size, suggests that the microspheres have a great potential to be used as arsenate adsorbents in the water treatment for human consumption.

Sustained-Release and pH-Adjusted Alginate Microspheres-Encapsulated Doxorubicin Inhibit the Viabilities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma-Derived Cells.

The objective of this study aimed to develop biodegradable calcium alginate microspheres carrying doxorubicin (Dox) at the micrometer-scale for sustained release and the capacity of pH regulatory for transarterial chemoembolization. Ultrasonic atomization and CaCl2 cross-linking technologies were used to prepare the microspheres. A 4-by-5 experiment was first designed to identify imperative parameters. The concentration of CaCl2 and the flow rate of the pump were found to be critical to generate microspheres with a constant volume median diameter (~39 μm) across five groups with different alginate: NaHCO3 ratios using each corresponding flow rate. In each group, the encapsulation efficiency was positively correlated to the Dox-loading %. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy showed that NaHCO3 and Dox were step-by-step incorporated into the calcium alginate microspheres successfully. Microspheres containing alginate: NaHCO3 = 1 exhibited rough and porous surfaces, high Young’s modulus, and hardness. In each group with the same alginate: NaHCO3 ratio, the swelling rates of microspheres were higher in PBS containing 10% FBS compared to those in PBS alone. Microspheres with relatively high NaHCO3 concentrations in PBS containing 10% FBS maintained better physiological pH and higher accumulated Dox release ratios. In two distinct hepatocellular carcinoma-derived cell lines, treatments with microspheres carrying Dox demonstrated that the cell viabilities decreased in groups with relatively high NaHCO3 ratios in time- and dose-dependent manners. Our results suggested that biodegradable alginate microspheres containing relatively high NaHCO3 concentrations improved the cytotoxicity effects in vitro.

Sub-100-micron calcium-alginate microspheres: Preparation by nitrogen flow focusing, dependence of spherical shape on gas streams and a drug carrier using acetaminophen as a model drug

We developed a miniature gas-liquid coaxial flow device using glass capillaries, aiming to produce sub-100-μm Ca-alginate microspheres. Depending on collecting distance and the flow rates of nitrogen gas and alginate solution, however, Ca-alginate microparticles of different shapes were obtained. Spherical, monodisperse microparticles (microspheres) could only be obtained at certain gas flow rates and within a corresponding range of collecting distance. The result suggests that, for particles of this size, the gas flow rate and collecting distance are crucial for the formation of the spherical shape. We evaluated, as an example of its applications, the microsphere as a drug carrier using acetaminophen as a model drug. Large (~150 μm) and small (~70 μm) drug-loaded microspheres were prepared using two respective devices. Specifically, the drug-loaded microspheres were complexed with chitosan of different molecular weights. The dependence of in vitro drug release on the microsphere size and the chitosan molecular weight was examined. Chemical compounds studied in this articleAlginic acid sodium salt (PubChem CID: 5102882); Chitosan (PubChem CID: 71853); Calcium chloride (PubChem CID: 5284359); Sodium chloride (PubChem CID: 5234); Acetaminophen (PubChem CID: 1983); Polydimethylsiloxane (PubChem CID: 24771); n-Octadecyltrimethoxysilane (PubChem CID: 76486).

Morphological and Rheological Guided Design for the Microencapsulation Process of Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74 in Calcium Alginate Microspheres.

The intestinal microbiota is a real ecosystem composed of several bacterial species and a very huge amount of strains that through their metabolic activities play a crucial role in the development and performance of the immune system and other functions. Microbiota modulation by probiotics establishes a new era into the pharmaceutical and healthcare market. Probiotics play, in fact, an important role in helping and sustaining human health, but in order to produce benefits, their viability must be preserved throughout the production process up to consumption, and in addition, their bioactivity required to be safeguarded while passing through the gastrointestinal tract. In this frame, encouraging results come from encapsulation strategies that have proven to be very promising in protecting bacteria and their viability. However, specific effort has to be dedicated to the design optimization of the encapsulation process and, in particular, to the processing parameters that affect capsules microstructure. Herein, focusing on calcium alginate microspheres, after a preliminary selection of their processing conditions based on size distribution, we implemented a micro-rheological analysis, by using the multiple-particle tracking technique, to correlate the inner microstructure to the selected process conditions and to the viability of the Lactobacillus paracasei CBA L74. It was assessed that the explored levels of cross-linking, although changing the microorganism constriction, did not affect its viability. The obtained results confirm how this technology is a promising and a valid strategy to protect the microorganism viability and ensure its stability during the production process.