Most nutraceutical compounds are poorly-water soluble. Their low solubility decreases the adsorption rate in living organisms leading to their low bioavailability. Utilization of nanoparticles is a promising way to improve the solubility of hydrophobic compounds. Nanoparticles increase the total surface area of the poorly-water soluble nutraceuticals making them more bioavailable. Some traditional methods for decreasing particle size include pearl or jet milling, where particles are broken down through grinding or collisions under high pressure. These mechanical processes not only require high energy input but also raise a concern of milling media residues. The high pressure homogenizer approach applies implosion forces and collision of particles to generate nanosuspensions. This method requires microsuspensions as starting material and consumes high energy. Among several emulsion-based techniques for preparing nanoparticles, solvent diffusion practice is a novel approach in which a poorly-water soluble compound is transferred into nanoemulsion droplets of a partially water-soluble organic solvent. The compound then crystallizes because the solvent diffuses out of the emulsion droplets. The key point of proposed emulsion-diffusion technology is that the phase transition occurs within an isolated nanoemulsion droplet. The main purpose of this study is to develop a “green” and scalable method for preparing nanosuspensions of highly hydrophobic compounds. We use FDA GRAS ingredients to create nanoparticles of poorly-water soluble nutraceuticals. β-carotene is selected as a model hydrophobic nutraceutical. Triacetin, a partially- water soluble triacetate compound, is used as the dispersed phase of nanoemulsions. The influence of surfactant, water concentration, and homogenization time on particle size and stability is investigated. The impact of surfactant on diffusion flux of triacetin is studied. Kolmogorov theory is applied to reveal the breakup mechanism of emulsion droplets under shear and predict their size. A mathematical model is built to discover the size of emulsion droplet during the formation of nanosuspensions. It is hoped that the this work will greatly advance the manufacture of nanoparticles of poorly-water soluble nutraceuticals
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Food Science
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Nanoparticles
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Beta carotene
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Functional foods
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.