Production and Evaluation of Vitamin E based Nanoemulsion by Spontaneous Method

Oil-in-water nano-emulsions (NEs) are increasingly used as delivery systems to encapsulate lipophilic bioactive components in functional foods. NEs are usually produced using high-energy methods، which can limit production in Iran because of a lack of suitable equipment. The present study investigated the production of NEs using the low energy method of spontaneous emulsification. The effect of oil composition was first determined for Tween 80 and Tween 20 by changing the surfactant-to-oil ratio (SOR) from 10% to 83% at fixed increments in the continuous phase (16. 7% w/w oil phase). The effect of the length of the continuous phase and temperature on production of NEs was investigated for different amounts of initial water (28. 6% and 50% w/w oil phase) for both Tweens; the effect of temperature change was only tested for Tween 80. The prepared samples were tested for turbidity، stability، rheological properties، and dilution. Optimum NEs formed at a SOR of 16% for Tween 80. In this method، surfactant type had an appreciable effect on the production of NEs. It was found that SOR had a major effect on production of NEs. There was no effect for the continuous phase or temperature on production and particle size. The NEs were stable (no change in size) at ambient temperatures (20°C) for one month. A concentration of about 0. 003% NE was determined to be the optimal addition for beverages without changing their optical and rheological properties. In the optimum formulation (OF)، changes in temperature and oil phase did not affect the production of NEs and the OF was stable for 30 d.