Vegetable Oils Acting as Encapsulated Bioactives and Costabilizers in Miniemulsion Polymerization Reactions

Abstract

Vegetable oils with different chemical structures are successfully encapsulated and applied as costabilizers in miniemulsion polymerization reactions. The results are compared to hexadecane, a well‐known costabilizer used for this type of polymerization. The great advantage of using vegetable oils is that besides acting as costabilizers, they are also encapsulated, increasing the application of the nanoparticles. Results show that kinetics tend to be slower with argan oil, due to the higher concentration of double bonds present in the oil. When coconut oil and jojoba oil are used, the kinetic rate kept nearly the same. The different types of costabilizers do not affect the average size of the particle, and are able to keep the miniemulsion stable throughout the reaction. DSC analysis shows a decrease in the glass transition temperature when the vegetable oils are used. However, after a long period of storage, the Tg of the polymers increases. STEM images show the formation of nanoparticles for hexadecane and the vegetable oils. However, the nanocapsule morphology appeares only when coconut oil, jojoba oil, and hexadecane are used, while for argan oil no phase separation can be detected in the polymer particle.Practical Applications: Miniemulsion polymerization reactions allow the production of polymeric nanoparticles in only one step with high encapsulation efficiency. To obtain a stable miniemulsion, it is necessary the addition of a costabilizer. The vegetable oils are chosen because besides acting as costabilizers the vegetable oils can increase the application of the nanoparticles since they have important characteristics and functionalities.Miniemulsion polymerization reactions allow the production of polymeric nanoparticles in only one step with high encapsulation efficiency. To obtain a stable miniemulsion, the addition of a costabilizer is necessary. The vegetable oils are chosen because besides acting as costabilizers, the vegetable oils can increase the application of the nanoparticles since they have important characteristics and functionalities. Furthermore, the vegetable oils are biodegradable. In this work, we propose two oils that are not composed of unsaturated fatty acids, unlike many vegetable oils commonly used in the literature.