A wide variety of products containing bioactive compounds have been designed to meet the fundamental needs of society in terms of beauty, health and well-being. Nevertheless, these products do not provide the expected health benefit, because of the low water solubility, low chemical or biochemical stability and the high reactivity of these bioactive compounds, reasons why they lose their biological functionality and bioavailability. Among the different strategies developed to overcome this challenge, biopolymer-based micro- and nanoparticles are the most promising systems to maintain the biological functionality and bioavailability of the bioactive compound and to provide its controlled release in its physiological site of action. A large number of processes exist for obtaining biopolymer-based micro- and nanoparticles. Nonetheless, companies seek rapid and environmentally-friendly production processes that obtain spherical nanoparticles with core-shell structure, controlled particle size distribution and high encapsulation efficiency, which guarantee the health effect. The increasing demand for new products and the drawbacks of the existing processes are causing a steady research for new technological possibilities...