Diffusion mechanism and release profile of a multivitamin from TiO2 hollow particles

Abstract

The present study aimed to control the release rate profile of a multivitamin that has hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties and to investigate its diffusion rate from titanium dioxide (TiO2) hollow particles. The TiO2 hollow particles encapsulating the vitamins C and E were prepared via a sol-gel process using an inkjet nozzle. The obtained particles were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The sustained release rate was estimated by the dialysis bag method. Additionally, a diffusion mechanism for the multivitamin from the TiO2 hollow particles was proposed.TiO2 particles prepared by this method exhibited spherical porous structures. The TiO2 hollow particles were successful in encapsulating both the hydrophilic vitamin C and the hydrophobic vitamin E, resulting in a sustained release profile for these two components from the TiO2 hollow particles. The release behavior of the multivitamin was quite different from that of each single vitamin. This is related to the adsorption state of each vitamin on the TiO2 particle surface. The effective diffusion coefficient of VC derivative (8.403 × 10−13 cm2/s) was faster than that of VE derivative (1.671 × 10−13 cm2/s). This tendency may be attributed to the difference between hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties. Additionally, the value of effective diffusion coefficient in multi-component was always larger than that in single component. The value of Knudsen diffusion coefficient in VC and VE derivative was 2.684 × 10−3 and 2.264 × 10−3 cm2/s, respectively. In all samples, Knudsen diffusion coefficient was larger than molecular diffusion coefficient. The diffusion mechanism of the active ingredients likely depends on the pore size of TiO2 and the molecular size of the active ingredients.