Zinc (Zn) is an essential micronutrient and serves important and critical roles in our growth, development, and well-being. Nonetheless, Zn is deficient in the diet of many segments of the world population. Hybrid inorganic�organic nanocomposite materials have currently attracted much interest because of their multi-functionalities. Herein, we report facile and simple room-temperature approaches for synthesis of ZnO-based nanocomposites, which will survive the gastric environment, readily absorbed due to the nanoscale. Nanocrystalline zinc oxide (ZnO) particles coated with whey protein isolate (WPI) were fabricated in the weak basic aqueous solution condition at near room temperature. The X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements confirmed the nanoscaled composite structure of ZnO�WPI. The average composite granules size was about 300 nm and the embedded ZnO nanoparticles were uniform and monodisperse with an average diameter of 65 nm. Pectin�ZnO nanocomposite was prepared in the aqueous solution condition at room temperature. The Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscope (TEM) measurements confirmed the nanoscaled structure of pectin�ZnO composite. According to the TEM observation, the average composite granules size was about 150 nm and the embedded ZnO nanoparticles were uniform with an average diameter of 70 nm. These nanocomposites provide promising future food applications.

Room-temperature synthesis of ZnO-based nanocomposites for food applications

244th National Meeting (2012)

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