Microencapsulation of Coenzyme Q10 in Poly(ethylene glycol) and Poly(lactic acid) with Supercritical Carbon Dioxide

Abstract

The rapid expansion of supercritical solutions (RESS) process was applied to produce polymeric microparticles loaded with coenzyme Q10 (coQ10). Mixtures of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/(coQ10) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)/(coQ10) containing a cosolvent were dissolved in supercritical CO2 and sprayed through a nozzle to atmospheric pressure. The effect of process parameters such as encapsulating material/coQ10 ratio and cosolvent on the properties of the microcapsules were investigated. The characterization of microcapsules was carried out through Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Infrared Spectrophotometry (IR), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), and solubility kinetics. More important effect of the ratio encapsulating material/coQ10, compared with the effect of type of cosolvent, on studied properties was found.