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ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Shellac-based encapsulation model incorporating calcium fluoride for oral care applications

Piyada Dissara1 ,  Chompunuch Sukcheep2 ,  Sanong Ekgasit3 ,  Prompong Pienpinijtham3* ,  Apichat Phengdaam4*
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1 Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
2 Dental Clinic, Khok Pho Hospital, Khok Pho, Pattani, Thailand
3 Sensor Research Unit, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
4 Division of Physical Science, Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla, Thailand
BMT, 99 https://doi.org/10.12336/bmt.25.00099
Submitted: 14 July 2025 | Revised: 9 October 2025 | Accepted: 17 October 2025 | Published: 19 November 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). Licensee Biomaterials Translational, USA. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en)
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Abstract

Fluoride-releasing systems are widely incorporated into dental products to prevent caries; however, fluoride ions readily interact with calcium compounds in oral formulations, resulting in deactivation and reduced effectiveness. To overcome this limitation, a simple extrusion method was designed to fabricate shellac-based biopolymer beads capable of encapsulating fluoride. The resulting beads had an average diameter of 2.54 ± 0.22 mm, with theoretical analysis supporting particle size dependence on extrusion tube diameter. Structural and stability characterization was conducted using optical and electron microscopy, elemental analysis, vibrational spectroscopy, and thermal profiling, confirming in situ calcium fluoride formation and effective pore sealing. Key formulation parameters—including shellac concentration, dissolution time, bead formation time, and hardening time—were optimized to improve bead morphology and fluoride retention. An in situ blocking strategy, involving controlled precipitation of calcium fluoride within the bead matrix during formulation, was implemented to minimize fluoride diffusion and enhance long-term stability. This approach achieved 70% active fluoride retention over 90 days. The proposed encapsulation model holds promise for applications in toothpaste and other dental care products.

Keywords
Biopolymer
Calcium fluoride
CaF2
Encapsulation
Fluoride
Shellac
Funding
This research was supported by the Thailand Science Research and Innovation Fund Chulalongkorn University, and NANOTEC (a member of NSTDA) under the Research Network of NANOTEC (RNN) program. A. Phengdaam would like to thank the Faculty of Science, Prince of Songkla University, for partially financial support.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could appear to have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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