title: Characterization and antioxidant activity of β-carotene loaded chitosan-graft-poly(lactide) nanomicelles.
abstract: β-Carotene (β-C) is a well-established natural antioxidant agent, but its poor water-solubility, low chemical stability and low bioavailability limit its application in food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics industries. Thus it is critical to develop an efficient method to improve the water solubility and stability of β-C. In this research, amphiphilic chitosan-graft-poly (lactide) (CS-g-PLA) copolymer was synthesized via a homogeneous ring-opening polymerization (ROP) in ionic liquid. The obtained CS-g-PLA copolymer was able to self-assemble into about 14 nm micelles in water at low concentration, and β-C loaded micelles (β-C/M) had low β-C degradation after 15 days. The antioxidant properties of the β-C/M were investigated by the 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) method, respectively. Significantly improved antioxidant activity was observed for β-C/M in compare with free β-C. The aqueous dispersion of β-C/M has potential to be applied in the field of functional food and cosmetics.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Wenjiao
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.
authors.forename: Meiwan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China. Electronic address: fewangxh@scut.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China.
authors.forename: Shijie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, China; Institute of Biomass Chemistry and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China.
authors.forename: Runcang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D048271:Chitosan / Q000737:chemistry*; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008823:Micelles; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000737:chemistry*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D008823:Micelles; D011091:Polyesters; D019207:beta Carotene; C033616:poly(lactide); D048271:Chitosan
keywords: Antioxidant activity; Chitosan; Nanomicelles; Self-assemble; β-Carotene