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Updated: Apr 6, 2026
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In vitro Digestion of Emulsions in a Single Droplet via Multi Subphase Exchange of Simulated Gastrointestinal Fluids
Published on: November 18, 2022
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How relevant are assembled equilibrium samples in understanding structure formation during lipid digestion?
Stephanie Phan1, Stefan Salentinig1, Adrian Hawley2
1Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, 381 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.
Summary
Lipid formulations aid drug delivery. Digestion forms colloidal structures in the gut, enhancing drug solubility, with formation influenced by lipid type and digestion state.
Area of Science:
- Physical Chemistry
- Biopharmaceutics
- Colloid Science
Background:
- Lipid-based formulations are increasingly used for delivering poorly water-soluble drugs.
- Drug delivery relies on self-assembly of lipolysis products with surfactants in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Limited understanding exists regarding colloidal structure formation under dynamic digestion conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate colloidal structure formation in the small intestine following lipid ingestion.
- To compare structure formation under equilibrium versus dynamic lipolysis conditions.
- To understand how factors like lipid composition and digestion state influence these structures.
Main Methods:
- Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for structural analysis.
- Dynamic light scattering (DLS) for particle size and structure determination.
- Investigation of lipid composition, chain length, prandial state, and emulsification effects.
Main Results:
- Colloidal structure formation depends significantly on lipid composition, chain length, prandial state, and emulsification.
- Incorporation of phospholipids and lipolysis products into bile salt micelles caused structural swelling.
- Reduced bile salt concentrations led to a co-existing lamellar phase, indicating limited solubilization capacity.
- Emulsification was found to accelerate both lipolysis and colloidal structure formation.
Conclusions:
- Dynamic lipolysis conditions lead to distinct colloidal structures compared to equilibrium systems.
- Bile salt concentration is critical for determining the final colloidal structure and drug solubilization.
- Emulsification enhances the efficiency of lipid digestion and subsequent structure formation for drug delivery.
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