Microencapsulation of fish oil using supercritical antisolvent process

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Chemical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Fish oil is a valuable source of omega-3 fatty acids but is prone to oxidation and degradation.
• Effective encapsulation is crucial for protecting fish oil and controlling its release.
• Supercritical antisolvent (SAS) technology offers a promising method for microencapsulation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize a novel supercritical antisolvent process for fish oil encapsulation.
• To utilize hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) as a wall material for fish oil microparticles.
• To investigate the impact of process parameters on particle characteristics and in vitro oil release.

Main Methods:

• Development of a new supercritical antisolvent process.
• Optimization of temperature, pressure, and feed emulsion rate using response surface methodology (RSM).
• Characterization of microparticle size, surface morphology (field emission scanning electron microscopy), and in vitro oil release.

Main Results:

• The optimized SAS process yielded fish oil microparticles with a mean particle size of 58.35 μm.
• Field emission scanning electron microscopy revealed spherical particle structures with no internal voids.
• In vitro release studies demonstrated significant differences in oil release based on formulation, with higher polymer concentrations leading to decreased release.

Conclusions:

• The developed supercritical antisolvent process is effective for encapsulating fish oil with HPMC.
• Optimized process parameters are critical for achieving desired particle characteristics.
• The encapsulation significantly reduces the in vitro release rate of fish oil, offering potential for improved stability and delivery.