Novel Biobased Sodium Shellac for Wrapping Disperse Multiscale Emulsion Particles

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Colloid and Surface Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Amphipathic oligomers, driven by hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic forces, and hydrogen bonds, can encapsulate multiscale emulsion particles.
• Sodium shellac presents a novel, biobased alternative for encapsulating emulsion particles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the efficacy of sodium shellac as a biobased wrapping material for vitamin E (VE) emulsion particles.
• To evaluate different solidification methods (H+, Ca2+, spray-drying) for fabricating VE-loaded shellac beads.
• To assess the impact of particle size on encapsulation efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of vitamin E (VE) emulsion particles.
• Encapsulation of VE emulsion using sodium shellac.
• Solidification of shellac-VE complexes via H+ and Ca2+ treatment, and spray-drying.
• Evaluation of VE loading and encapsulation efficiency.

Main Results:

• Microscale VE emulsion particles were successfully encapsulated by all three methods.
• Spray-drying proved challenging for nanoscale emulsion particles due to high solid content.
• H+-solidified beads exhibited superior VE loading (18.9%) and encapsulation efficiency (64.3%) at a 1:4 ratio, driven by hydrophobic interactions.
• Sodium shellac demonstrated the ability to extract VE from emulsion micelles.

Conclusions:

• Sodium shellac is a promising biobased material for encapsulating emulsion particles, offering tunable properties based on solidification methods.
• The H+ solidification method is particularly effective for achieving high VE loading and encapsulation efficiency, especially for nanoscale emulsions.
• This novel encapsulation approach holds significant potential for applications in the medical, food, and cosmetic industries.