Preparation and characterization of nanocarriers based on polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes and bovine serum albumin and its photoprotection of resveratrol against UV radiation

In this work, biopolymer nanomaterials were prepared by electrostatic complexation and thermal treatment using the medicinal and edible homologous polysaccharides from Lentinus edodes (LEP) and bovine serum albumin (BSA). The hydrodynamic radius, PDI and zeta potential of the LEP-BSA nanocarriers (NCs) were 125.3 ± 1.2 nm, 0.206 ± 0.007 and − 25.3 ± 0.7 mV, respectively. SEM images of LEP-BSA NCs further demonstrated their uniform morphology. UV–vis, fluorescence and FTIR spectra revealed that LEP interacted successfully with BSA. And the presence of LEP caused the conformational change of BSA, which was confirmed by FTIR spectroscopy. The LEP-BSA NCs maintained good stability in long-term storage at different temperatures and kept integrity at neutral or slightly higher pH conditions. In vitro hemolysis and cytotoxicity experiments were performed to verify the biocompatibility of the LEP-BSA NCs. Furthermore, the ability of LEP-BSA NCs to encapsulate bioactive compounds was proved by the successful encapsulation of resveratrol and the photoprotection of resveratrol. This work will be applied to other polysaccharide-protein systems with unique activities to prepare multi-functional stimuli-responsive nanomaterials for better applications in food production and biopharmaceuticals.