Viability improvement of Bifidobacterium animalis Bb12 by encapsulation in chitosan/poly(vinyl alcohol) hybrid electrospun fiber mats.

For the improvement of the probiotics' viability, a novel nanofiber mats consisting of chitosan (CS)/poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb12 and inulin (INU) as a prebiotic were fabricated via electrospinning approach. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that cells were well encapsulated in nanofibers with a diameter ranging from 117.