Investigation of nanovesicle liposome powder production from soy lecithin by spray drying

Aiming to produce stable nanosize liposome vesicles (∼100 nm), in a powder form, this study investigated the use of combined microfluidization–spray drying processes, using lactose as a stabilizing agent for vesicles during the process of dehydration. To determine the effective amount of lactose for stabilization, the vesicles were prepared at three different ratios (1:1, 1:3, and 1:5) of lecithin:lactose. The physicochemical properties of the nanoliposome powder and its reconstituted solution with water were evaluated over a storage period of 90 days at water activity below 0.3. The results demonstrated that upon addition of appropriate amount of lactose (1:3 or 1:5 of lecithin:lactose ratio), the aggregation of nanoliposomes was prevented and their size was maintained at lower than 130 nm during storage. Peroxide values of all nanoliposome formulations during the storage period remained below 3 meq/kg and there was no change in L*, a*, b* color parameters. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis showed over-representation of lecithin on the power particle surface as compared to the bulk composition