Preparation of Zein Microparticles Loaded with Astaxanthin by a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Anti-solvent Process
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Abstract:
Astaxanthin-loaded microparticles were created using a supercritical anti-solvent (SAS) process in this study, with zein as the carrier material, a mixture of dichloromethane and dimethyl sulfoxide as co-solvent, and supercritical carbon dioxide as the anti-solvent. The effects of five operating conditions, i.e., solvent ratio, temperature, pressure, concentration of carrier materials, and solution flow rate, on astaxanthin encapsulation rate, particle morphology, and mass median diameter (Dp50) were investigated using an OA25 (55) orthogonal experimental design. Analysis of variance indicated that the optimal operating conditions were as follows: DMSO/DCM (1:2, V/V), T = 42 ℃, P=80 bar, C=3 g/L, and F=1.5 mL/min. Under these conditions, the astaxanthin encapsulation rate was 94.4% and Dp50 was 385.4 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images showed that most of the particles had a spherical shape with a smooth surface, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy suggested that the chemical structure of astaxanthin was not changed after the SAS process. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) patterns indicated that astaxanthin was embedded completely in zein, and the protective effect of the carrier material on astaxanthin was achieved. The results of storage tests indicated that the stability of astaxanthin was improved significantly after loading.
