title: Nanoencapsulation of quercetin via miniemulsion polymerization.
abstract: The nanoencapsulation of quercetin, a strong antioxidant and radical scavenger, via methyl methacrylate miniemulsion polymerization, using miglyol 812 as costabilizer and lecithin as surfactant was studied and the effect of the monomer/co-stabilizer ratio and different types of initiator, 2,2'azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and redox pair composed of hydrogen peroxide and ascorbic acid, was investigated. Reactions conducted in the presence of quercetin showed lower polymerization rates, indicating that the presence of quercetin inhibits (redox pair) and/or retards (AIBN) the polymerization reaction. The increment of the concentration of ascorbic acid in the reactions initiated by a redox pair resulted in a considerable increase of the reaction rate without influencing other properties as average particle diameter, due to the fact that ascorbic acid acts as a reducing agent minimizing the oxidation of quercetin. Higher quercetin recovery was obtained for nanocapsules when compared with nanospheres.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Engenharia Química e Engenharia de Alimentos, CTC, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Caixa Postal 476, 88040-900 Florianópolis/SC, Brazil.
authors.forename: Neusa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bernardy
authors.forename: Ana Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Romio
authors.forename: Erika I
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Barcelos
authors.forename: Carine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dal Pizzol
authors.forename: Cristina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Dora
authors.forename: Elenara
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lemos-Senna
authors.forename: Pedro H H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Araujo
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sayer
mesh_terms: D001205:Ascorbic Acid / Q000737:chemistry; D004655:Emulsions / Q000737:chemistry*; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000737:chemistry; D020366:Methylmethacrylate / Q000737:chemistry*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D011794:Quercetin / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004655:Emulsions; D011108:Polymers; D020366:Methylmethacrylate; D011794:Quercetin; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D001205:Ascorbic Acid