Release Characteristics of Curcumin Loaded on Zein/Poly (Ethylene Oxide) by Coaxial Electrospinning

As a by-product of starch production, zein is widely used in feed and has a low utilization rate. In this experiment, electrospinning technology was used to obtain nanofiber membranes by high-value use of zein, which was used for antibacterial research. The zein nanofibers with core/shell supported curcumin were developed by coaxial electrospinning. Curcumin was supported in three core/shell nanofibers made up of zein and polyethylene oxide (PEO), and characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV, FT-IR and XRD. The results of cyclic voltammetry (CV) release kinetics showed that the encapsulation efficiency of curcumin reached 96.02%, 95.00% and 90.15% on the basis of loading capacity of 0.226, 0.260 and 0.264 mg, which was consistent with the affinity of curcumin to zein slightly stronger than that of PEO. By studying the electrochemical properties of curcumin, it was found that zein coated polyethylene oxide film had the best sustained-release effect; By SEM, it could be observed that after the release of curcumin, the fiber membrane appeared holes and the structure was destroyed. Antimicrobial studies showed that Staphylococcus aureus was more sensitive to curcumin than E. coli. The curcumin loaded nanofibers prepared by coaxial electrospinning could be used for the preservation and storage of functional food and biomedical products.