Progress， Challenges， and Prospects in Biobased Nanotechnology for Food Engineering

doi:10.13560/j.cnki.biotech.bull.1985.2025-0769

Abstract

Abstract:

Bio-based nanofood engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field that employs nanoscale technologies to modulate the structures and properties of natural bio-based materials (lipids, proteins, polysaccharides, biogenic vesicles, and nucleic acids) with the aim of enhancing food functionality. Such advancements include improving nutritional value, prolonging shelf life, optimizing sensory attributes, and strengthening food safety. This review provides a comprehensive overview of recent progress in the field, with particular attention to the preparation strategies of five major categories of bio-based nanocarriers (lipid-based, protein-based, polysaccharide-based, bio-derived vesicles, and nucleic acid-based). These strategies, encompassing top-down, bottom-up, and hybrid approaches, have shown significant potential in the delivery of bioactive compounds by improving their stability, bioavailability, and targeted release. The review further discusses key challenges for industrial translation: bottlenecks in stability and process controllability during large-scale preparation at the technical level; being urgent to establish the unified risk assessment standards and regulatory frameworks for nanomaterials at safety and regulatory level; and the issues of limited public awareness and insufficient acceptance at market level. Finally, the review prospects the intelligent and green development path driven by multidisciplinary integration, including intelligent responsive carrier design, biosynthesis platform driven by synthetic biology technology, AI-assisted design system and multi-component coordinated delivery system. The review also emphasizes the simultaneous development of safety evaluation and regulatory systems to promote standardized application of this technology and the sustainable growth of the food industry.

Key words: biobased nanotechnology for food engineering, biobased nanocarriers, functional foods, nanodelivery systems, technical challenges, regulatory standards

LIU Yan, ZHU Long-jiao, ZHANG Wen-qiang, XU Wen-tao. Progress， Challenges， and Prospects in Biobased Nanotechnology for Food Engineering[J]. Biotechnology Bulletin, 2025, 41(11): 1-10.

Figures/Tables 1

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