ABSTRACT
Encapsulation is used to entrap active compounds within a carrier material, which is useful for protecting and delivering bioactive compounds under different conditions. Micro and nanoencapsulated bioactive compounds have several benefits when compared with free bioactive compounds, and even with encapsulation at the macroscale. One of the technologies that has emerged in the last decade in the pharmaceutical and food fields is nano spray drying. This technology has been used to produce dried micro- and nanostructures and has shown to be an easy and efficient process to encapsulate bioactive compounds and produce stable dried micro- and nanostructures. In this chapter, the recent advances of the nano spray drying technology (and equipment) as well as other spray drying methods are discussed and compared. Both ‘closed-‘ and ‘open-loop’ operation methods, as well as materials that are used for nano spray drying of bioactive ingredients, for a wide range of applications, are also discussed.
