In recent years, Pickering emulsions have emerged as a new method and have attracted much attention in the fields of food sciences. Unlike conventional emulsions, Pickering emulsions are stabilized by solid particles, which can irreversibly adsorb on the oil-water interface to form a dense film to prevent the aggregation of droplets. The research and development of food-grade solid particles are increasingly favored by scientific researchers. Compared with conventional emulsions, Pickering emulsions have many advantages, such as fewer using amounts of emulsifiers, biocompatibility and higher safety, which may offer feasibility to have broad application prospects in a wide range of fields. In this article, we review the preparation methods, stabilization mechanism, degradation of Pickering emulsions. We also summarize its applications in food sciences in recent years and discuss its future prospects and challenges in this work.

Curcumin (CUR), a polyphenolic substance extracted from plants, has extensive pharmacological activities. However, CUR is difficult to be absorbed in the body due to its poor stability and low solubility. Studies have found that cochleates can be used as a new delivery system to encapsulate bioactive agents for the purpose of improving its stability and bioavailability. In this study, thin-film dispersion and trapping methods were used to prepare curcumin-loaded cochleates (CUR-Cochs). Then CUR-Cochs were characterized and the encapsulation efficiency was determined by HPLC. In addition, the freeze-drying process of CUR-Cochs was studied and related characterization was performed. CCK-8 assay was used to detect the cytotoxicity of cochleates carrier. Additionally, H₂O₂-induced cellular oxidative damage model were used to evaluate its antioxidant capacity. The results showed that the structure of CUR-Cochs was a spiral cylinder with an average particle size of 463.8 nm and zeta potential of −15.47 mV. The encapsulation efficiency was the highest (83.66 ± 0.8)% with 1:50 CUR-to-lipid mass ratio. In vitro results showed that cochleates had negligible cytotoxicity and owned antioxidant capacity, which provided the possibility for their applications in food and medicine. In general, the method herein might be a promising method to encapsulate CUR for further use as a bioactive agent in functional foods.

In this work, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and curcumin drug were incorporated in polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) nanofibers by electrospinning as a novel tissue engineering scaffold in nerve regeneration. The influence of AuNPs on the morphology, crystallinity, and drug release behavior of nanofiber membranes was characterized. A successful composite nanofiber membrane sample was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The addition of AuNPs showed the improved as well as prolonged cumulative release of the drug. The results indicated that PVDF–AuNPs nanofiber membrane could potentially be applied for nerve regeneration.