Formation and stabilization of nanostructured-lipid carriers using biosurfactants for encapsulation of liposoluble vitamins

Liposoluble vitamins exhibit poor solubility in aqueous mediums and are very sensitive and unstable when exposed to inadequate conditions (e.g. temperature and pH). With that in mind, it is important to preserve the properties of these molecules and improve their biological efficiency. Nanoencapsulation can be an alternative and the nanostructuredlipid carriers (NLC’s) are presented to be a good alternative for vitamins encapsulation due to their unique features (e.g. easy scalability, presence of digestible lipids, possible absence of solvents and the use of food-grade materials during production) [1]. It is also important to find new bio-based and biodegradable food-grade materials with new well-known properties, such as biosurfactants (produced by microorganisms) [2]. Due to physico-chemical properties of biosurfactants (low toxicity, high biodegradability, high selectivity, low micelle concentrations and effectiveness at extreme temperatures, pH’s and salinities), they are already used in the food industry to improve, for example, texture, organoleptic properties and creaminess of products [3,4]. Take this account, in this study is investigated the suitability of a biosurfactant produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (rhamnolipids) to form and stabilize NLC’s for encapsulation of liposoluble vitamins.