Yuanjie Pan

Distribution of a model bioactive within solid lipid nanoparticles and nanostructured lipid carriers influences its loading efficiency and oxidative stability

The overall goal of this study was to characterize the distribution of a model bioactive encapsulant in the lipid domain of SLNs and NLCs and its relationship with loading efficiency and reactivity of the model encapsulant with oxidative stress agents. Distribution of a model bioactive (beta-carotene) was compared to that of a fluorescent dye (Nile red) in SLNs, 10% NLC, 30% NLC, 50% NLC, 70% NLC (the number represents the percentage of liquid lipid within the total lipid amount) and emulsions. Fluorescence imaging shows that the distribution of Nile red in the lipid domain of colloidal carriers was similar to that of beta-carotene in all formulations. Based on the combination of imaging observations and loading efficiency measurements, the results demonstrate that beta-carotene was excluded from the lipid domain in both SLNs and NLCs. The extent of exclusion decreased, while uniformity in the distribution of encapsulant in the lipid domain of colloidal carrier increased with an increase in percentage of liquid lipid content of NLCs. Oxidative stability of the encapsulated beta-carotene in SLN and NLCs (at least until 30% liquid lipid composition) was significantly lower compared to that in emulsion. Only for the NLCs with 50 and 70% liquid lipid content, oxidative stability of the encapsulated compound was significantly higher than that in emulsions. Overall, the results demonstrate that differences in loading efficiency and oxidative stability of beta-carotene in SLNs and NLCs may be explained by the differences in the distribution of beta-carotene.

Compound Stability in Nanoparticles: The Effect of Solid Phase Fraction on Diffusion of Degradation Agents into Nanostructured Lipid Carriers

The stability of active compounds encapsulated in nanoparticles depends on the resistance of the particles to diffusion of environmental degradation agents. In this paper, off-lattice Monte Carlo simulations are used to investigate a suspension of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) composed of interspaced liquid and solid lipid domains, immersed in a solution containing molecules representing oxidative or other degradation agents. The simulations examine the diffusion of the degradation agents into the nanoparticles as a function of nanoparticle size, solid domain fraction, and domain size. Two types of suspensions are studied: one (representing an infinitely dilute nanoparticle suspension) where the concentration of oxidative agents is constant in the solution around the particle and the other, finite system where diffusion into the nanoparticle causes depletion in the concentration of degradation agents in the surrounding solution. The total number of degradation agent molecules in the NLCs is found to decrease with the solid domain fraction, as may be expected. However, their concentration in the liquid domains is found to increase with the solid domain fraction. Since the degradation reaction depends on the concentration of the degradation agents, this suggests that compounds encapsulated in nanoparticles with high liquid content (such as emulsions) will degrade less and be more stable than those encapsulated in NLCs with high solid domain fraction, in agreement with previous experimental results.