Engineering Optimized Nanostructured Lipid Carriers for Astaxanthin: A Response Surface Methodology Approach.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant, suffers from poor solubility and bioavailability.
• Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) offer a promising solution for oral delivery of hydrophobic compounds.
• NLCs provide excellent biocompatibility, stability, and drug loading capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and optimize astaxanthin-loaded NLC using cocoa butter and palm oil.
• To utilize Response Surface Methodology (RSM) for nanoformulation optimization.
• To characterize the physicochemical properties of the astaxanthin-loaded NLC.

Main Methods:

• Response Surface Methodology (RSM) with a Central Composite Design (CCD) was employed.
• Independent variables (cocoa butter, palm oil, Tween 80) were analyzed for their effects on NLC properties.
• Particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency were measured.

Main Results:

• Formulation components significantly influenced NLC particle size, PDI, and zeta potential.
• Optimized NLCs exhibited a particle size of 254.42 ± 3.91 nm, PDI of 0.38 ± 0.01, and zeta potential of -30.54 ± 0.85 mV.
• An exceptional astaxanthin encapsulation efficiency of 99.69±0.0003% was achieved.

Conclusions:

• The optimized NLC formulation demonstrated ideal physicochemical properties for oral astaxanthin delivery.
• RSM effectively predicted and optimized NLC characteristics.
• This nanostructured system holds potential for enhancing astaxanthin's clinical applications.