Delivery of microparticulated liquid systems in food

Sustained, slow, controlled, and targeted release formulations for pharmaceutical and medical applications have been subject to extensive research.^1-4 The modern food industry has shown an increasing interest in controlled release formulation, mostly to improve rheological and physical properties of the product, to upgrade its quality and to improve its stability and appearance.^5-7 Tremendous progress has been made in the last decade in the understanding of the surface and colloid properties of foods, and in developing advanced techniques to microparticulate and disperse solid particles and liquid droplets in various continuous phases. Many techniques for reducing particles’ sizes and for stabilizing the dispersed matter from aggregating, flocculating, and coalescing (liquids) have been developed. These include formation of liposomes and vesicles, swollen micelles and microemulsions, emulsions and double emulsions (for liquid dispersions) and formation of micro- and nanoparticles, nano- and microspheres, macrocapsules and coascervates, and a combination of the above (for solid particles).