The results indicated that the volume ratio of microbead to
compound solution influenced the % encapsulation, although it
did not significantly influence the rate of encapsulation. However,
the rate of encapsulation did increase with increasing molecule
hydrophobicity. Loading of the microbeads was quite rapid, with
all four compounds reaching maximum uptake values in less than
40 min. This methodology is amenable to large scale manufacture,
as large batches of blank microbeads can be readily manufactured
and subsequently loaded in a short period of time with a range of
bioactive compounds. However, the release kinetics show that
release from the microbeads is also quite fast in the case of tryptophan,
riboflavin and dipeptide. In contrast, results of the pentapeptide
show that by establishing an interaction between the
microbead and bioactive that is sufficiently strong to minimise diffusional
losses, then whey microbeads have great potential as an
encapsulation system for small hydrophobic molecules in high
moisture foods.