Ucuùba Fat Characterization and Use to Obtain Lipid Nanoparticles by High-Pressure Homogenization with Full Factorial Design

Ucuùba fat was characterized and used as the lipid phase for the production of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs). The acid, iodine, refraction, and saponification values as well as the oxidative stability of the fat were determined. The myristic acid was found to be the main fatty acid present in the fat. NLCs were produced by high-pressure homogenization with tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (TPGS) or Tween 80 as surfactant. A full factorial experimental design 22 was applied to evaluate the impact of production parameters on particle size and polydispersity index (PDI) of the nanocarrier. The design of experiments (DoE) demonstrated that the increase of pressure and number cycle homogenization positively contributed to reduce the mean particle size and PDI of NLCs only when TPGS was present