Diffusion of curcumin and other small molecules into alginate hydrogelsOmladič, Lucija (Avtor) Osojnik Črnivec, Ilja Gasan (Mentor) Andre Vicente, Filipa Aleksandra (Komentor) hydrogelsalginatecurcumincyclodextrinsfood metabolitesdiffusionHydrogels are widely applied for the entrapment and controlled diffusion of small molecules due to their tunable structure and responsiveness to environmental conditions. This study investigated the diffusion behavior of curcumin and selected low-molecular weight compounds – ethanol, lactic acid, glucose and vanillin in alginate hydrogels, with particular emphasis on the effects of hydrogel composition, ethanol exposure and cyclodextrin incorporation. Diffusion experiments were performed using different varying hydrogel compositions exposed to different environmental conditions. Curcumin was monitored by ultraviolet–visible spectrometry and evaluated using similarity factor analysis, while diffusion of ethanol, lactic acid, glucose and vanillin was determined using high-performance liquid chromatography and ion chromatography. The results showed that increasing alginate concentrations reduced diffusion efficiency due to higher network density. Exposure to ethanol caused hydrogel shrinkage. Incorporation of cyclodextrins generally increased curcumin diffusion, which was attributed to the formation of inclusion complexes that improved apparent solubility. The extent of this effect depended on cyclodextrin type and concentration, with β-cyclodextrin exhibiting the most pronounced concentration-dependent influence. In contrast, glucose and ethanol diffusion were largely unaffected by cyclodextrins, while vanillin and lactic acid showed reduced diffusion in their presence. These findings demonstrate the potential of alginate hydrogels with cyclodextrin inclusion for controlled diffusion and selective retention of bioactive compounds in food bioprocessing application.[L. Omladič]20262026-04-09 07:15:10Magistrsko delo/naloga181496sl