In this study, the sugar beet pulp

In this study, the sugar beet pulp non-sucrose carbohy- drates were isolated and acid hydrolyzed to produce micro- scale materials. The sulfuric acid hydrolysis resulted in a unique tubular structure (Fig. 1). The tubular structures were in micro-scale with a length of 22.570.9 mm and a diameter of 3.971.2mm. The occurrence of these tubular structures, which we refer to as “stacks of tubules” can be attributed to the penetration of Hþ ions of sulfuric acid in both the surface and the inner amorphous region of the isolated carbohy- drates. The penetration of Hþ ions could most likely reduce the particle size, from macro- to micro-scale, due to the cleavage of physical and chemical bonding. Micro-scale materials are currently used in food and pharmaceutical applications to entrap or pack nutrients and nutraceutical. Hence, the unique micro-scale tubular structures resulting from acid hydrolysis could be applied in food and pharma- ceuticals to encapsulate bioactive ingredients.
Materials used for micro-encapsulation in human applica- tions should be biocompatible, sustainable, and must be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for human health (Sozer & Kokini, 2009). The micro-scale materials isolated from sugar beet pulp are bio-based and GRAS. The isolated