Preparation and Characterization of α-Tocopherol-Loaded Nano-Lipid Carriers: Effect of Lipid Type and Carrier Oil Content

Abstract

Nano lipid carriers for encapsulating α-tocopherol (α-TC) were successfully fabricated using hot homogenization method. The effect of oil content and type of lipid on the physicochemical properties of different formulations was investigated. The results showed that α-TC nanocarriers exhibited a small particle size (259.2-379 nm), narrow polydispersity index (PDI) (0.178-0.432) and high entrapment efficiency (EE) (95.73-99.22%). Nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) of Compritol containing 45% corn oil (α-TC-NC45) was selected as the optimum formulation due to its smaller particle size and PDI and higher EE. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) data revealed a low degree of crystalinity for α-TC-NC45 with two crystal forms of α and s´. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images also exhibited an almost spherical morphology for the particles. The α-TC-NC45 was found to be stable with respect to particle size, PDI and EE during a 3-month storage at both 4 and 25 °C. The results concluded that Nanostructured lipid carrier of Compritol containing 45% corn oil may be announced as an appropriate delivery system for food and beverages fortification with α-tocopherol