Microemulsion Characteristics of Oil-in-Water with Surfactants as α-tocopherol Carriers

Abstract

Microemulsions are relatively stable carrier agents for bioactive components. This study aimed to determine the characteristics of oil-in-water (O/W) microemulsions as carriers of α-tocopherol compounds in variations of α-tocopherol concentration, pH, and dilution. The O/W microemulsion was made from a mixture of surfactants (Tween 80, Tween 20, and Span 80) with virgin coconut oil (VCO) in a ratio of 85:15 with a total volume of 5 mL added with 10 mL of distilled water. The research used a randomized block design (RBD). The data were analyzed using ANOVA and continued with Tukey's test and regression analysis. Treatments in microemulsion were the addition of α-tocopherol with concentrations of: 0.25, 1.50, 1.75 and 2.0%. Observations were made on the turbidity index values, appearance, droplet diameter, and microemulsion stability. In addition, observations were made on the stability of the microemulsion at variations of pH (4.5, 5.5, 6.5), and dilution (10, 50, and 100 times). The results showed that the microemulsion was able to carry α-tocopherol compounds up to a concentration of 2% with a turbidity value reaching 0.1036 ± 0.0033% with a transparent appearance. A mixture of three surfactants (Tween 80, Tween 20 and Span 80) has the ability to increase droplet stability. The α-tocopherol microemulsion had a droplet diameter below 30 nm and stayed stable against the effects of centrifugation at pH 4.5 with dilutions up to 50 times and remained stable upto pH 6.5 with dilutions between 50 – 100 times.