| Grant number: | 11/10333-1 |
| Support Opportunities: | Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants |
| Start date: | April 01, 2012 |
| End date: | March 31, 2017 |
| Field of knowledge: | Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering |
| Principal Investigator: | Cláudia Regina Fernandes de Souza |
| Grantee: | Cláudia Regina Fernandes de Souza |
| Host Institution: | Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | Ribeirão Preto |
| Associated scholarship(s): | 12/13648-6 - MICROENCAPSULATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS OF CAMELIA SINENSIS IN SOLID LIPIDIC SYSTEMS,
BP.MS 12/09890-6 - ENCAPSULATION OF BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS FROM Syzygium aromaticum in SOLID LIPIDIC CARRIERS, BP.DR 12/03427-2 - Microencapsulation and nanoencapsulation of natural compounds by drying technologies, BP.JP |
Abstract
Many natural products of commercial importance, particularly in food and pharmaceutical industries, are complex mixtures of various substances. Examples herbal substances (phytochemicals) with claimed health benefits include the phenolic compounds (ex. curcumin, resveratrol, epigallocatechin gallate, and so on) and carotenoids (ex. lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, b-carotene, etc.). However, the biological effect can be drastically diminished or lost after oral administration, due to low solubility of the compound in the tract gastrointestinal (low absorption), and the effect of presystemic metabolism. Other products are volatile (ex essential oils), thermo-sensitive and susceptible to oxidation and may undergo irreversible changes in their physical and chemical properties when exposed to unprotected contact with other materials or external agents.Micro/Nanoencapsulation technologies have a huge potential application in the natural products area permitting, for example, the transformation of liquid and volatile products into solids, protection and modulation of the delivery of active compounds, enabling a better absorption of hydrophilic and lipophilic constituents. In this way, several technical limitations that currently impossibility the development of innovative products containing natural ingredients, with great potential for use in various industrial sectors such as the food and pharmaceutical can be overcome. For example, the low solubility of a natural product could adversely affect its applicability and performance, leading to difficulty in the formulating and probably low bioavailability, often requiring the use of excessive amounts.Among the strategies that can be employed for the production of micro and nanostructured systems containing natural products include the micro/nanoencapsulation by physical processes (spray drying, air suspension, freeze drying, spray chilling, micronization, high pressure homogenization, and microfluidization) or by physicochemical ones (simple and complex coacervation, solvent evaporation, etc). Different wall materials may be employed, such as proteins and polysaccharides, derivatives of acrylic and methacrylic acids, polylactic/polyglycolic acid, lipids, sugars, organic acids, and hydrogenated vegetable oil. The inclusion with cyclodextrins and molecular encapsulation into liposomes also present high potential. The selection of polymeric material and of encapsulating process depends on the desired product properties, such as solubility, bioavailability, biodegradability, delivery site, particle size, etc. The aim of this project is the development and evaluation of micro/nanostructured systems to modulate the delivery of natural products (ex. crude extracts, semipurified fractions, and isolated compounds), emphasizing different production processes (high pressure homogenisation, ultrasound homogeneization, spray drying and freeze drying, etc), type of excipients and methods for the physicochemical product characterization (size, solubility, permeability, dissolution, electron microscopy, x-ray, thermal analysis, zeta potential, etc). This project will support the implementation and consolidation of a technological platform with the capacity to develop innovative products from natural ingredients, with great potential of industrial application. (AU)
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