Size Of Microbeads Research Articles

Preparation of Poly(Ionic Liquid) Microbeads via Cooling-Assisted Phase Separation Method.

A simple and large-scale non-chemical preparation of uniform poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) microbeads via a cooling-assisted phase separation (CAPS) method is reported. For this method, PIL bulk is dissolved to form a saturated solution in a mixed solvent composed of good solvent and non-solvent at a relatively high temperature. Then, the uniform PIL microbeads are prepared by cooling the solution to room temperature or a lower temperature in the absence of stabilizer. The size of microbeads can be controlled by adjusting the preparation parameters, including PIL concentration, cooling rate, and agitation state. The scale of preparation can be up to 10g, and the yield of PIL microbeads is more than 70% or 88% when the solution is cooled to room temperature or 0°C, respectively. The formation mechanism of PIL microbeads is discussed by tracing the nucleation and growth process by the transmittance of light of the solution during cooling. The application of this CAPS method to other polymer microbeads preparation is finally discussed by choosing different good solvent and non-solvent.

Effect of prebiotics encapsulated with probiotics on encapsulation efficiency, microbead size, and survivability: a review

Effect of prebiotics encapsulated with probiotics on encapsulation efficiency, microbead size, and survivability: a review

Microfluidic chip for rapid and selective isolation of tumor-derived extracellular vesicles for early diagnosis and metastatic risk evaluation of breast cancer

The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) index in cancer is a complementary approach for estimating metastatic risk. Considering the demand for evaluating metastatic risk based on liquid biopsies, tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) can be exploited to generate the EMT index. For the generation of EVs-based EMT index, it is essential to selectively isolate each epithelial cell and mesenchymal cell-derived EVs. This study proposes a novel microfluidic chip for selectively separating two types of EVs in an efficient and timely manner. The microfluidic chip is fully integrated with a micromixer for the creation of efficient collision between EVs and specific antibody-coated microbeads (7 and 15 μm in diameter) and a hydrodynamic particle separator for the stratification of EVs bound microbeads according to the sizes of microbeads. Using this chip, over 90% of EVs expressing the epithelial marker (epithelial cell adhesion molecule, EpCAM) and the mesenchymal marker (CD49f) can be selectively isolated within 6.7 min per 100 μL of sample volume. The clinical relevance of EMT is investigated using plasma samples from 20 breast cancer patients and 10 age-matched controls. The EMT index produced from the microfluidic chip is in a good agreement with the conventional tissue-based EMT index and is significantly high in patients with aggressive breast cancer subtypes, compared with healthy controls. In addition, the patients with high scores on the EMT index (≥5) shows recurrence within 5 years after adjuvant treatment. Predicting EMT-index-based metastatic risk using our microfluidic chip can be beneficial for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.

Electro-hydrodynamic assisted synthesis of lecithin-stabilized peppermint oil-loaded alginate microbeads for intestinal drug delivery

Peppermint oil (PO) is the most prominent oil using in pharmaceutical formulations with its significant therapeutic value. In this sense, this oil is attracting considerable attention from the scientific community due to its traditional therapeutic claim, biological and pharmacological potential in recent research. An organic solvent-free and environment-friendly electrohydrodynamic assisted (EHDA) technique was employed to prepared PO-loaded alginate microbeads. The current study deals with the development, optimization, in vitro characterization, in vivo gastrointestinal tract drug distribution and ex-vivo mucoadhesive properties, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects of PO-loaded alginate microbeads. The optimization results indicated the voltage and flow rate have a significant influence on microbeads size and sphericity factor and encapsulation efficiency. All these optimized microbeads showed a better drug release profile in simulated intestinal fluid (pH 6.8) at 2 h. However, a minor release was found in acidic media (pH 1.2) at 2 h. The optimized formulation showed excellent mucoadhesive properties in ex-vivo and good swelling characterization in intestine media. The microbeads were found to be well distributed in various parts of the intestine in in vivo study. PO-loaded alginate microbeads similarly showed potential antioxidant effects with drug release. The formulation exhibited possible improvement of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in MO-induced rats. It significantly suppressed proinflammatory cytokines, i.e., interleukin- IL-1β, and upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokine expression, i.e., IL-10. It would be a promising approach for targeted drug release after oral administration and could be considered an anti-inflammatory therapeutic strategy for treating IBS.

Åkermanite glass microspheres: Preparation and perspectives of sinter‐crystallization

AbstractGlass microspheres with the exact stoichiometry of åkermanite (Ca2MgSi2O7), one of the most promising modern bioceramics, were produced by the flame synthesis method. The distinctive high cooling rate was found to prevent the crystallization; the size of amorphous microbeads could be correlated with the size of partially crystallized precursor powders, deriving from conventional melt quenching and milling. The glass microspheres were characterized in terms of crystallization and sintering behavior, in the perspective of applications in additive manufacturing of åkermanite‐based scaffolds. The results showed that merwinite (Ca3MgSi2O8) is the primary product of glass devitrification; only in a second stage, merwinite reacts with the residual glass and yields åkermanite. The rapid crystallization, implying limited viscous flow sintering, was tested as an opportunity to create components with complex porosity distribution.

Formulation and Evaluation of Pseudoephedrine Hydrochloride Loaded Alginate Microbeads

Multiple unit dosage forms such as microbeads have increased acceptance because of added even spreading of the drug in the gastrointestinal tract, unvarying drug absorption, abridged local irritation and removal of undesirable intestinal retaining of polymeric material, when compared to non-disintegrating single unit dosage form. The purpose of the presented research is to develop microbeads of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride utilizing sodium alginate as the hydrophilic carrier in combination with HPMC as drug release modifier to lessen the dosing frequency and thereby advance the patient compliance. The microbeads were formulated by varying concentrations of HPMC and calcium chloride. The optimum formulation was chosen based upon in vitro drug release studies and further evaluated. The compatibility of drug-polymer was studied using FTIR analysis. The prepared formulation underwent evaluation for various parameters like drug entrapment, microbeads size, swelling index, mucoadhesive property and stability. No significant drug-polymer interactions were observed in compatibility studies and the formulation was found to be stable on 45 days storage. The formulations exhibited an extended drug release pattern which was the ultimate aim of the study. The microbeads represented good yield, high drug entrapment, low microbeads size and appropriate swelling property. The in vitro wash-off test indicated that the sodium alginate microbeads represent decent mucoadhesive properties. Henceforth, the formulated HPMC coated sodium alginate beads can be utilized as a substitute and cost-effective carrier for the oral controlled delivery of pseudoephedrine hydrochloride.
 Keywords: microbeads, pseudoephedrine hydrochloride, sodium alginate, drug release

Synthesis of hollow magnetic carbon microbeads using iron oleate@alginate core-shell hydrogels and their application to magnetic separation of organic dye

The use of biopolymers obtained from natural resources as a carbon source has attracted much attention. In this study, we introduced a novel method for synthesis of hollow magnetic carbon microbeads (HMCMs) based on core-shell alginate hydrogel microbeads consisting of a hydrophobic iron-oleate core encapsulated in a shell of ionically cross-linked alginate hydrogel using the syringe pump with the fabricated double-layered syringe needle. This allows in-situ formation of magnetic particles and carbon walls simultaneously during carbonization. After surface passivation with a silica coating followed by direct carbonization led to in-situ formation of iron oxide particles via the thermal decomposition of the iron-oleate precursor in the core region and a carbon shell derived from the cross-linked alginate polymer during carbonization. The subsequent removal of the silica shell resulted in the formation of HMCMs with a unique surface wrinkle morphology and superparamagnetic property. HMCMs were applied to remove dye from the contaminated wastewater, and the dye-adsorbed HMCMs could be easily removed by an external magnetic field. The proposed synthesis of hollow carbon microbeads can be further optimized to control the size of core-shell microbeads and the components encapsulated in the core and shell, and hence will be useful for preparing diverse types of beads for various applications.

How sea urchins face microplastics: Uptake, tissue distribution and immune system response

Plastic pollution represents one of the major threats to the marine environment. A wide range of marine organisms has been shown to ingest microplastics due to their small dimensions (less than 1 mm). This negatively affects some biological processes, such as feeding, energy reserves and reproduction. Very few studies have been performed on the effect of microplastics on sea urchin development and virtually none on adults. The aim of this work was to evaluate the uptake and distribution of fluorescent labelled polystyrene microbeads (micro-PS) in the Mediterranean sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and the potential impact on circulating immune cells. Differential uptake was observed in the digestive and water vascular systems as well as in the gonads based on microbeads size (10 and 45 μm in diameter). Treatment of sea urchins with particles of both sizes induced an increase of the total number of immune cells already after 24 h. No significant differences were observed among immune cell types. However, the ratio between red and white amoebocytes, indicative of sea urchin healthy status, increased with both particles. This effect was detectable already at 24 h upon exposure to smaller micro-PS (10 μm). An increase of intracellular levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species was observed at 24 h upon both micro-PS exposure, whereas at later time these levels became comparable to those of controls. A significant increase of total antioxidant capacity was observed after treatment with 10 μm micro-PS. Overall data provide the first evidence on polystyrene microbeads uptake and tissue distribution in sea urchins, indicating a stress-related impact on circulating immune cells.

The influence of particle size to diffusivity of nanogold particles based on Brownian motion

Diffusivity calculation has been conducted by many researchers in various methods. One ingenious and sample-efficient way to determine the diffusivity is the examination under the microscope by using microbead random movements, called Brownian motion, through the footage of its movements. This study was conducted to observe the diffusivity of nanogold particles towards the use of various microbead sizes. The one-micron-sized microbead was mixed into nanogold particles solution and prepared onto slide glass, so was the three micron-sized and five-micron-sized microbead. The footage of microbead movements for each size is then tracked and processed using MATLAB image processing to obtain the mean square displacement (MSD) of the microbead and then fitting it to time to find the sample diffusivity. As a result, the nanogold diffusivity observed using one-micron, three-micron, and five-micron-sized microbead is respectively around 5.66 x 10−17 cm2s−1 , 3.45 x 10−17 cm2s−1 , and 1.71 x 10−17 cm2s−1 . Thus, the nanogold diffusivity observed using one-micron-sized microbead is greater than three-micron and five-micron-sized microbead, which can be concluded that the bigger of microbead size used, the smaller diffusivity obtained.

Dynamic membranes of tunable pore size for lemon oil encapsulation

Encapsulation of lemon oil (LO) is a challenging process due to the heat and shear sensitive nature of its volatile compounds. Using a low-shear high-throughput emulsification technique is a good alternative to conventional energy intensive techniques. In this study, LO emulsions are prepared with a dynamic membrane of tunable pore size (DMTS) system, where the emulsion is passed and refined repetitively through a microporous bed of silica micro-beads supported by a nickel sieve. It was observed that selecting micro-beads size and bed height affected the droplet size distribution and emulsification fluxes, nonetheless emulsions were generally stable for 7 days at two temperatures (25 and 4 °C). More importantly, emulsions with oil fractions up to 40%wt. and narrow size distributed droplets were prepared. A novel structural modification of the DMTS, consisting of two superimposed layers of different micro-beads sizes, reduced the energy input of the emulsification process while obtaining emulsions with similar droplet size distribution.

Screening of Electrospray-operating Parameters in the Production of Alginate-Royal Jelly Microbeads Using Factorial Design.

ABSTRACTIntroduction:Royal jelly (RJ) has been consumed as food or as a supplement because of its high nutritional and medicinal values. A fresh harvested RJ is yellowish to whitish in color and contains proteins, free amino acids, lipids, vitamins, and sugar. Without proper storage conditions, such as at 4°C, the color of RJ changes to much darker yellow and produces a rancid smell. To prolong its shelf life, RJ is usually mixed with honey. Alginate, a natural and edible polymer derived from seaweed, is commonly used to encapsulate drugs and food due to its ability to form gels by reacting with divalent cations. However, there is a lack of research on the microencapsulation of RJ in alginate using electrospray. The electrospray technique has the advantage in producing consistent size and shape of alginate microbeads under optimum parameters.Aim:This research aimed to optimize electrospray-operating parameters in producing alginate–RJ microbeads.Materials and Methods:Optimization of alginate–RJ microbeads electrospray parameters was carried out using 24 factorial design with three center points (19 runs). The studied parameters were flow rate, high voltage, nozzle size, and tip-to-collector distance, whereas the responses were particle size, particle size distribution, and sphericity factor. The responses of each run were analyzed using Design-Expert software.Results:Nozzle size is a significant parameter that influences the particle size. Flow rate is a significant parameter influencing the sphericity factor.Conclusion:Screening of the electrospray-operating parameters paves the way in determining the significant parameters and their design space to produce consistent alginate–RJ microbeads.

Precisely Encoded Barcodes Using Tetrapod CdSe/CdS Quantum Dots with a Large Stokes Shift for Multiplexed Detection

AbstractA serious obstacle to the construction of high‐capacity optical barcodes in suspension array technology is energy transfer, which can prompt unpredictable barcode signals, limited barcode numbers, and the need for an unfeasible number of experimental iterations. This work reports an effective and simple way to eliminate energy transfer in multicolor quantum dots (QDs)‐encoded microbeads by incorporating tetrapod CdSe/CdS QDs with a large Stokes shift (about 180 nm). Exploiting this unique feature enables the facile realization of a theoretical 7 × 7‐1 barcoding matrix combining two colors and seven intensity levels. As such, microbeads containing tetrapod CdSe/CdS QDs are demonstrated to possess a powerful encoding capacity which allows for precise barcode design. The ability of the Shirasu porous glass membrane emulsification method to easily control microbead size facilitates the establishment of a 3D barcode library of 144 distinguishable barcodes, indicating the enormous potential to enable large‐scale multiplexed detection. Moreover, when applied for the multiplexed detection of five common allergens, these barcodes exhibit superior detection performance (limit of detection: 0.01–0.02 IU mL−1) for both spiked and patient serum samples. Therefore, this new coding strategy helps to expand barcoding capacity while simultaneously reducing the technical and economic barriers to the optical encoding of microbeads for high‐throughput multiplexed detection.

Deciphering the Effect of Microbead Size Distribution on the Kinetics of Heterogeneous Biocatalysts through Single-Particle Analysis Based on Fluorescence Microscopy

Understanding the functionality of immobilized enzymes with spatiotemporal resolution and under operando conditions is an unmet need in applied biocatalysis, as well as priceless information to guide the optimization of heterogeneous biocatalysts for industrial purposes. Unfortunately, enzyme immobilization still relies on trial-and-error approximations that prevail over rational designs. Hence, a modern fabrication process to achieve efficient and robust heterogeneous biocatalysts demands comprehensive characterization techniques to track and understand the immobilization process at the protein–material interface. Recently, our group has developed a new generation of self-sufficient heterogeneous biocatalysts based on alcohol dehydrogenases co-immobilized with nicotinamide cofactors on agarose porous microbeads. Harnessing the autofluorescence of NAD+(P)H and using time-lapse fluorescence microscopy, enzyme activity toward the redox cofactors can be monitored inside the beads. To analyze these data, herein we present an image analytical tool to quantify the apparent Michaelis–Menten parameters of alcohol dehydrogenases co-immobilized with NAD(P)+/H at the single-particle level. Using this tool, we found a strong negative correlation between the apparent catalytic performance of the immobilized enzymes and the bead radius when using exogenous bulky substrates in reduction reactions. Therefore, applying image analytics routines to microscopy studies, we can directly unravel the functional heterogeneity of different heterogeneous biocatalyst samples tested under different reaction conditions.

Effect of Process Parameters on Microencapsulation of Active Compounds by Co-flow Air Assisted Microfluidic Extrusion

A co-flow microfluidic system consists of two concentric channels inside which flow the inner dispersed phase (sodium alginate) and the outer continuous phase. The size and shape of microbeads depend on the physical-chemical properties and flow rate of fluids and on the process conditions such as diameter, material type of dripping tip and collecting distance. In order to reduce the microbeads size, external forces are used to break up the droplets. These forces could be generated by pressurized air, electrostatic charges and vibration. The technologies presented in literature for matrix encapsulation are based on a liquid-liquid dual immiscible fluid configuration, introducing a series of problems in industrial production, like gelation, oil separation and cleaning which would not arise using air as continuous phase. However, the use of air introduces a more complex fluid dynamics in possibly turbulent flow regime. The aims of this study include: firstly the developing an integrated system pump-microfluidic device; secondly the analysis of the size of Ca-alginate beads at different air flow rates setting the dispersed phase flow rate at 1 ml min-1; and finally the study of the influence of alginate sodium flow rate on beads size distribution and the capsules payload . For these purposes, a 3% (w/v) solution of sodium alginate was used. The air focused the dispersed phase at dripping tip, applying a shear force generating micro-droplets. A 0.2 M solution of calcium chloride dehydrate allowed the extruded drops gelation. Then, the size distribution was investigated using laser diffraction. The results showed that the size of microbeads decreased with increasing air flow rate (from 0.7 to 2.4 ln min-1).

First evidence of protein modulation by polystyrene microplastics in a freshwater biological model

Microplastics (MPs) are now one of the major environmental problems due to the large amount released in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, as well as their diffuse sources and potential impacts on organisms and human health. Still the molecular and cellular targets of microplastics’ toxicity have not yet been identified and their mechanism of actions in aquatic organisms are largely unknown. In order to partially fill this gap, we used a mass spectrometry based functional proteomics to evaluate the modulation of protein profiling in zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), one of the most useful freshwater biological model. Mussels were exposed for 6 days in static conditions to two different microplastic mixtures, composed by two types of virgin polystyrene microbeads (size = 1 and 10 μm) each one. The mixture at the lowest concentration contained 5 × 105 MP/L of 1 μm and 5 × 105 MP/L of 10 μm, while the higher one was arranged with 2 × 106 MP/L of 1 μm and 2 × 106 MP/L of 10 μm.Proteomics’ analyses of gills showed the complete lack of proteins’ modulation after the exposure to the low-concentrated mixture, while even 78 proteins were differentially modulated after the exposure to the high-concentrated one, suggesting the presence of an effect-threshold. The modulated proteins belong to 5 different classes mainly involved in the structure and function of ribosomes, energy metabolism, cellular trafficking, RNA-binding and cytoskeleton, all related to the response against the oxidative stress.

Electrospraying of environmentally sustainable alginate microbeads for cosmetic additives

Polymer microbeads (MBs) for scrubbing additives have generally been prepared from non-biodegradable synthetic polymers. The worldwide pollution of the marine ecosystem by microplastics urgently demands novel environment-friendly MBs. In this study, Ca-alginate MBs were fabricated by electrospraying an aqueous alginate solution into distilled water containing calcium ions. The size and shape of the Ca-alginate MBs were controlled by electrospraying parameters, such as nozzle diameter and solution concentration. As the alginate concentration and needle diameter were increased, the size of alginate MBs was gradually increased, because of the higher mass flow rate. In addition, the adsorption and degradation behavior of alginate MBs were examined using model contaminants and sea water, respectively. In particular, alginate MBs rapidly degraded in sea water, due to the reversible ion-exchange reaction between Ca2+ in MBs and Na+ in sea water. Therefore, the electrosprayed Ca-alginate MBs offer a promising alternative for environment-friendly cosmetic additives.

Biodegradable and Porous Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) Microbeads for In vitro Evaluation of Negatively Charged Fluorescent Bacteria

In this study, porous microbeads synthesized by water-oil-water [water/oil/water (W1/O/W2)] double-emulsion solvent evaporation method exhibited immense potential as biocarriers for the attachment of bacteria. Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) was selected as a biodegradable, biocompatible material for fabricating porous microbeads. Ammonium bicarbonate and polyvinyl alcohol concentrations played a significant role in the modification of the microbead size. The microbead surface structure was modified by partial hydrolysis using sodium hydroxide to generate open pores on the surface and a more hydrophilic surface than PLGA itself. To examine the inner morphology of the microbeads, confocal laser scanning microscopy was employed in combination with rhodamine B during the fabrication of porous microbeads. Finally, the attachment of fluorescent bacteria to these porous microbeads was analyzed in terms of affinity between bacteria and porous PLGA microbeads. The affinity of microbeads to negatively charged bacteria was observed as a function of the charges of the PLGA microbead surfaces, indicating that surface-modified PLGA porous microbeads decorated with positively charged chitosan exhibit an enhanced affinity to negatively charged bacteria.

Laser-based 3D bioprinting for spatial and size control of tumor spheroids and embryoid bodies

3D multicellular aggregates, and more advanced organotypic systems, have become central tools in recent years to study a wide variety of complex biological processes. Most notably, these model systems have become mainstream within oncology (multicellular tumor spheroids) and regenerative medicine (embryoid bodies) research. However, the biological behavior of these in vitro tissue surrogates is extremely sensitive to their aggregate size and geometry. Indeed, both of these geometrical parameters are key in producing pathophysiological gradients responsible for cellular and structural heterogeneity, replicating in vivo observations. Moreover, the fabrication techniques most widely used for producing these models lack the ability to accurately control cellular spatial location, an essential component for regulating homotypic and heterotypic cell signaling. Herein, we report on a 3D bioprinting technique, laser direct-write (LDW), that enables precise control of both spatial patterning and size of cell-encapsulating microbeads. The generated cell-laden beads are further processed into core-shelled structures, allowing for the growth and formation of self-contained, self-aggregating cells (e.g., breast cancer cells, embryonic stem cells). Within these structures we demonstrate our ability to produce multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs) and embryoid bodies (EBs) with well-controlled overall size and shape, that can be designed on demand. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of aggregate size on the uptake of a commonly employed ligand for receptor-mediated drug delivery, Transferrin, indicating that larger tumor spheroids exhibit greater spatial heterogeneity in ligand uptake. Taken together, these findings establish LDW as a versatile biomanufacturing platform for bioprinting and patterning core-shelled structures to generate size-controlled 3D multicellular aggregates. Statement of SignificanceMulticellular 3D aggregates are powerful in vitro models used to study a wide variety of complex biological processes, particularly within oncology and regenerative medicine. These tissue surrogates are fabricated using environments that encourage cellular self-assembly. However, specific applications require control of aggregate size and position to recapitulate key in vivo parameters (e.g., pathophysiological gradients and homotypic/heterotypic cell signaling). Herein, we demonstrate the ability to create and spatially pattern size-controlled embryoid bodies and tumor spheroids, using laser-based 3D bioprinting. Furthermore, we investigated the effect of tumor spheroid size on internalization of Transferrin, a common ligand for targeted therapy, finding greater spatial heterogeneity in our large aggregates. Overall, this technique offers incredible promise and flexibility for fabricating idealized 3D in vitro models.

Experimental investigation into size and sphericity of alginate micro-beads produced by electrospraying technique: Operational condition optimization

Alginate spherical hydrogel beads have several applications in biomedical and biological processes in which the bead size and sphericity are critical factors affecting mass transfer phenomena. Electrospraying technology facilitates generation of small and almost uniform beads with higher diffusion rate resulting in process performance improvement. There are several key factors affecting particle size and shape behavior of electrosprayed alginate beads meanwhile interactions between these factors introduce complexity in determining appropriate conditions to produce spherical beads with the size of interest. Thus, the need to achieve reliable products has put growing emphasis on the use of modeling methodology to establish correlations between particle size and affecting variables as well as sphericity coefficient and meaningful factors. Obviously, a more applicable model based on intentionally manipulatable factors would spark a great deal of interest for practical engineering applications. In this regard we employed a central composite design (CCD) and response surface methodology (RSM) to model the diameter and sphericity coefficient of electrosprayed alginate beads for the first time. Two quadratic models were obtained in which the effectiveness order of the variables were found. We could benefit from this RSM-based empirical model not only for better understanding the complex physics of the electrospraying process, but also for selection of factors and their levels to produce alginate micro-beads with appropriate size and sphericity. The results indicate that the alginate concentration, voltage and needle size have the strongest influence on both response variables. The quite spherical beads with a minimum size of 130 μm can be obtained at alginate concentration of 1.5%, voltage of 11 kV, and needle size of 26 G.

Production of whey protein isolate – gellan microbeads for encapsulation and release of flaxseed bioactive compounds

Production of 1.5% (w/v) whey protein isolate (WPI) – 0.1, 0.3 or 0.5% (w/v) gellan gum microbeads from extrusion of the oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions into a 0.56% (w/v) calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution was evaluated to encapsulate flaxseed oil (15% v/v) and protein hydrolysate (FPH) (0, 0.25 or 0.5% w/v). Microgels resistance and controlled release of oil and FPH were also investigated. Microscopic images showed few free oil droplets and a prevailing presence of gellan on the external surface of the microbeads, indicating that oil and FPH were encapsulated. Microbeads produced at higher gellan concentrations (0.3 or 0.5% w/v) showed a more regular and spherical morphology. However a significant decrease in microbeads size (from ∼55 μm to ∼50 μm) and an increase in the polydispersity were observed with the FPH addition, which can be a consequence of the formation of a more dense biopolymers network. FPH presence (0.25% w/v) decreased the viscosity and shear thinning behavior of microbeads suspensions (10–90% w/v), which could be partly attributed to the smaller size of particles. The microbeads suspensions were stable at different salt concentrations (0.56, 1.11 or 2.22% w/v) regarding their shape, not releasing the encapsulated oil. 1.5% (w/v) WPI – 0.3% (w/v) gellan microbeads were resistant to simulated gastric conditions, but did not resist to intestinal conditions. Our results show that these microgels are adequate to encapsulate bioactive compounds to be released in the small intestine, passing intact in the stomach, which makes the process attractive in order to maintain the bioavailability and functionality of such compounds.