Effects of the Extraction Phase of Citrus L. Growing in Iran, Loaded in Oil-to-Water Nanocapsules Prepared by the Interfacial Polymerization Method

Abstract

The Citrus L. genus is a major source of limonene, which includes vitamin C and can be used in food and traditional medicinal plants. The polymerization method has been employed to study the preparation of Citrus nanocapsules by employing the polyesteric triblock copolymer polyethylene glycol–poly butylene adipate–polyethylene glycol in the shell, and olive oil is used as the core. In our current study, a specific amount of polymer, limonene, and olive oil were initially mixed first with acetone and ethanol and then added to water. The solvent was then removed from under vacuum and put in a freeze dryer, resulting in the residual nanocapsules being produced. Our study indicated that the size of the nanocapsules was a function of a variety of factors, such as the concentration of oil, polymer, and plant extract. Finally, we used scanning electron microscopy, particle size analysis report, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance to visualize the nanocapsules.