Development of nanostructured lipid carriers for incorporation of lipophilic bioactive compounds

Abstract

Nanotechnology has been an important focus of public attention around the world, due to its wide range of applications and the superior functionality of nanoscale release systems. Nanoparticles developed based on lipids are among the most promising encapsulation technologies in the field of nanotechnology, due to the great differentiation of the physicochemical properties of the obtained nanoparticles, retention capacity of compounds of variable solubility and mainly, high bioavailability. Two types of Lipid Nanoparticles (LN) are currently being developed using solid lipid matrices: Solid Lipid Nanoparticles (SLN) composed of solid lipids, and Nanostructured Lipid Carriers (NLC), composed of solid and liquid lipids. One of the main trends in the development of these structures is the use of edible and/or commercially available oils and fats in the food industry, replacing the synthetic lipid matrices, which are not very viable for food applications, in terms of cost and regulatory aspects. Thus, the aim of this project is to obtain nanostructured lipid carriers that exhibit high crystalline stability and high biocompatibility, through high pressure hot homogenization technique using as lipid matrices the Fully Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (FHSO) and High Oleic Sunflower Oil (HOSO) for the incorporation of ²-carotene and ±- tocopherol. The project will be developed in four different stages, in which the first will be carried out preliminary evaluations to obtain the NLC, as formulation of the pre-emulsion and preliminary tests, for selection of emulsifier and process conditions. The second stage corresponds to obtaining the NLC from different lipid systems FHSO: HOSO (80:20, 60:40, 40:60 20:80), and later characterization and stability study of these structures. Then, we will select the most stable NLC for the incorporation of the bioactive compounds ²-carotene and ± -tocopherol into the structures, which will be carried out in the third stage of this project, with subsequent characterization and stability study of CLN, and evaluation of the in vitro digestibility in the fourth stage. (AU)