Fabrication of vitamin E-enriched nanoemulsions by spontaneous emulsification: Effect of propylene glycol and ethanol on formation, stability, and properties

Oil-in-water nanoemulsions are finding increasing application within pharmaceutical and functional food products as delivery systems to encapsulate lipophilic bioactive components, such as drugs, vitamins, and nutraceuticals. We investigated the influence of two water-soluble cosolvents, propylene glycol (PG) and ethanol, on the formation, stability, and properties of vitamin E acetate-loaded nanoemulsions (VE-NEs) prepared by spontaneous emulsification. This method simply involves titrating an organic phase (VE+surfactant) into an aqueous phase (water+cosolvent). The particle size and optical clarity of the nanoemulsions (10% VE+10% surfactant+80% aqueous phase) depended strongly on cosolvent type and concentration. The smallest droplets (d