Development of nanoproducts and materials with essencial oils content

Abstract

Highly ordered mesoporous materials (HOM) of the type MCM-41, SBA-15, FDU-1 were synthesized under strictly controlled conditions, using ionic or neutral surfactant (commercially available) as structure driver; triethylortosilicate (TEOS) or Na2SiO3 as silica source; and acidic or alkaline aqueous solutions as interaction medium. HOMs feature large surface area, narrow distribution of pore sizes, ordered pores with high volume, and have high thermal, hydrothermal and mechanical stability. Due to their excellent adsorption properties, these materials will be used for the adsorption and/or encapsulation of essential oils (EO) in order to facilitate the manipulation of phytochemists, reduce their volatility and/or increase their stability and protection. Then, they can be used in controlled release processes in a wide variety of pharmaceutical, food, flavoring and environmental/public health products. These mesoporous materials will be synthesized under hydrothermal treatment, and after filtration and washing they will be calcined to remove the surfactant. Essential oils will become adsorbed and/or encapsulated into the calcined material. Initially, Citronella and Clove oils, in different proportions (w/w) and different interaction media, will be tested. HOM/EO materials will be characterized by several physicochemical and analytical techniques. The evaluation of the characteristics of the resulting materials and their possible application will be initially performed by isothermal thermogravimetry to determine the percentage of release in relation to time in both storage and usage temperatures. (AU)