Preparation of lutein proliposomes by supercritical anti-solvent technique

Proliposomes (PL) composed of lutein and hydrogenated phosphatidylcholine were prepared using supercritical anti-solvent technology (SAS). The effects of the process parameters on the lutein loading and the particle sizes of the proliposomes were investigated. HPLC was applied to determine the content of lutein in the samples. At the optimum conditions for the experimental conditions investigated—temperature of 35 °C, pressure of 8 MPa and the solution flow rate of 1 ml/min—the lutein loading of the proliposomes reached 55 mg/g. The images characterized by SEM were evaluated for the different PL samples in order to study the influences of operational conditions on the particle sizes and morphology. When PL was hydrated, the lutein liposome suspensions were formed automatically. The crystallinity of PL was analyzed using DSC to analyze the distribution of lutein in PL. The structure of PL and the lutein liposome was detected by TEM. The results indicate that PL with the high lutein loading was made successfully and the lutein liposome was obtained with the encapsulation efficiency of more than 90% after hydrating PL. These results demonstrate that SAS technique is a simple and effective process for the preparation of PL from which liposome can be easily formed. The lutein proliposomes obtained in the one phase area are smaller and more regular spheres, while the lutein proliposomes obtained in the two phase area (vapor–liquid area) are irregular spheres. [Display omitted]