Incorporation of biopolymer into the alginate beads gave higher entrapment efficiency of bioactive compound and increased water uptake and swelling.
freeze drying, the release of caffeine from the beads was slightly retarded (prolonged) in comparison to hydrogel beads
The underlying mechanism is that the presence of either of the two biopolymers can reduce/prevent the formation of side-by-side aggregations of egg-box junction zones during drying