The main aim of this study was to prepare apple pomace polyphenolic extract (APPE- referred to as a core) loaded into biodegradable and commercially available natural polymer such as maltodextrin (MD-referred to as a shell). The polymer coating potentially improves its low stability and bioavailability and also directs the control release of the encapsulated material. The MD-nanoparticles (NPs) loaded with the APPE were prepared by a modified nanoprecipitation method. An experimental central composite design was utilized for the modeling, optimization and to assess the influence (and interactions) of the shell to core ratio, surfactant concentration, and sonication time (as the independent variables) on the NPs preparation to maximize the level of polyphenols loading and the NPs formation yield (referred to as dependant variables). The adopted models were verified statistically and experimentally. The results showed that amongst the independent variables, the shell to core ratio and the surfactant concentration were statistically significant in the experimentally selected ranges. By adopting the optimal process conditions, the spherical shaped NPs were prepared with a mean average size of 52 nm (confirmed by the Dynamic Light Scattering and FE-SEM techniques) and polyphenols loading efficiency of 98%. FT-IR spectroscopy confirmed the successful entrapment of the core in the shell of NPs. Hydrogen bonding is one of the modes of interactions between the hydrophilic moieties of polyphenols and MD. The in vitro polyphenols release of the NPs through simulating cancerous tumor acidity conditions represented a sustainable release, indicating potential anticancer application of the NPs
