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Encapsulation and drying technologies allow the engineering of innovative raw materials from plant biodiversity, with potential applications in pharmaceutical and cosmetic fields. Lipid-based nanoencapsulation stands out for its efficiency, ease of production, and versatility in encapsulating substances, whether hydrophilic or lipophilic. This work aimed at encapsulating pequi oil in liposomes and freeze-dried liposomes to enhance its stability and functional benefits, such as skin hydration and anti-aging effects, for use in innovative cosmetic formulations. Pequi oil—extracted from the Caryocar brasiliense fruit pulp, a plant species from Brazilian plant biodiversity—is rich in secondary metabolites and fatty acids. Liposomes and dried liposomes offer controlled production processes and seamless integration into cosmetic formulations. The physicochemical analysis of the developed liposomes confirmed that the formulations are homogeneous and electrokinetically stable, as evidenced by consistent particle size distribution and zeta potential values, respectively. The gel-type formulations loaded with the dried liposomes exhibit enhanced skin hydration, improved barrier function, and refined microrelief, indicating improvements in skin conditions. These results highlight the potential of dried liposomes containing pequi oil for the development of innovative cosmeceutical products. This research contributes to the valorization of Brazilian biodiversity by presenting an innovative approach to leveraging the dermatological benefits of pequi oil in cosmetic applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the feasibility and optimization of the spouted bed drying to produce standardized dried Camellia sinensis extract. We explored processing variables such as inert particle type (Teflon® or glass beads), drying aid concentration (colloidal SiO2—Aerosil 200®), and drying inlet temperatures (80, 110, or 140 °C). Regression analysis of the results allowed for constructing response surface graphs, highlighting variable impacts on product properties and spouted bed performance. The optimal conditions involved Teflon® beads and a drying temperature of 110 °C, resulting in a product with excellent moisture content, water activity, and active constituent retention. The product demonstrated significant antioxidant activity in DPPH assays, with an IC50 between 4.4 to 6.7 µg/mL, surpassing the synthetic antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), which had an IC50 of 12.5 µg/mL. Rancimat assays showed that the dried extract effectively protected crude sunflower oil from oxidation, increasing its shelf life from 8.2 to 13.1 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract After drilling oil wells using oil-based drilling fluid, there is the occurrence of a formation of a thin layer of solids adsorbed on the surface, called filter cake, which must be removed to obtain satisfactory well cementation. The present work developed microemulsion systems from sodium dodecyl sulfate, a biodegradable surfactant, with kerosene as oil phase, n-butanol as cosurfactant and distilled water, in order to evaluate its efficiency in removing the filter cake. The results showed that the microemulsion systems composed of inverse and bicontinuous micelles removed 100% of the filter cake regardless of the content of the constituents in the formulation, while the direct micelles only reached 100% with the formulation composed by 10% kerosene and cosurfactant/surfactant ratio = 4. It was observed that the cosurfactant/surfactant ratio is a determining variable for direct micelles to remove 100% of the filter cake and that they are compatible with cement, offering desirable thermal stability and improving the wettability of the rock in water.

Oil and gas productions yield a by-product designated as produced water (PW). The high oil content of this effluent prevents its disposal or reuse. This study presents a novel alternative for the removal of oil from produced water using saponified babassu coconut oil (SBCO), as the ionic surfactant part which captures the oil by micellar solubilization, followed by ionic flocculation with Ca2+ ions. A factorial experimental design was applied to optimize the oil removal (RE) process. The experiments investigated the influence of SBCO + CaCl2 concentration, temperature (T), and stirring speed (ω). Extraction Percentages (RE) in the range from 64.901% to 88.444% were achieved. Subsequently, the influence of pH, CaCl2/surfactant ratio and oil removal kinetics in the highest RE% system were evaluated, whereby for pH > 7, (calcium chloride/surfactant) ratio of 1:1, and 15 min of stirring, the RE obtained was 100%. The same maximum removal result was obtained using a microemulsion containing SBCO. Thus, it can be affirmed that the application of ionic flocculation using SBCO is an efficient technique in the treatment of PW.

Chrysin is a bioactive flavonoid found in pollens, passion flowers, honey, royal jelly, and propolis, which is commonly used as an ingredient in natural food supplements and is primarily responsible for their pharmacological properties. A transparent chrysin-loaded microemulsion (CS-ME) prepared through a ternary phase diagram was evaluated for use as an antihyperalgesic formulation. It was formulated with 40% Labrasol® (surfactant), 5% isopropyl myristate (oil phase) and 55% water (aqueous phase) and classified as an oil-in-water (O/W) microsized system (74.4 ± 15.8 nm). Its negative Zeta potential (−16.1 ± 1.9 mV) was confirmed by polarized light microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis. In vitro studies in Franz-type static diffusion cells showed that chrysin release from CS-ME followed zero-order kinetics. Oral administration of CS-ME in mice resulted in a statistically significantly reduction (p < 0.05) in carrageenan-induced mechanical hyperalgesia compared to the control group. Treatment with CS-ME also showed anti-inflammatory activity by significantly decreasing the TNF-α level (p < 0.01) and increasing that of IL-10 (p < 0.05) compared to the control group. These results suggest that the proposed microsystem is a promising vector for the release of chrysin, being able to improve its capacity to modulate inflammatory and nociceptive responses.

Binary and ternary molecular inclusion complexes (MICs) of beta-cyclodextrin (βCD - binary), and chitosan-βCD (ternary) loaded with Lippia sidoides (LS) and Syzygium aromaticum (SA) volatile oils (VOs—pure and in 1:1 mixtures) were engineered by a modified slurry method followed by spray drying. Eugenol and Thymol, the major constituents of SA and LS VOs, were successfully retained in MICs, showing good values of the encapsulation efficiency (EE), molar ratio (MR), and VOs load (DL). EEs were higher for the pure VOs (68.7 ± 1.6 to 86.1 ± 4.0% w/w) compared to their mixtures (37.8 ± 1.4 to 65.9 ± 2.4% w/w). The chitosan addition increased the Thymol's EE, while for Eugenol, an opposite effect was exhibited. The MICs formed showed slight changes in the volatiles' composition, evidencing a selective encapsulation of the VOs constituents. The effects of processing conditions on moisture content, water activity, and particle size were negligible. The reported results suggest the feasibility of the complexation protocols proposed to manufacture novel binary and ternary complexes of βCD and chitosan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clove is an aromatic plant spice with potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Eugenol is the main compound which contributes to such medicinal and nutritional benefits. To date, the formulation of unstable, volatile and poorly water-soluble compounds remains a challenging task. Lipid formulations can be used to improve physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties of poorly soluble compounds. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of lipids, such as Gelucire and Compritol on physicochemical properties; stability and in vitro intestinal permeation of spray dried powdered formulations loaded with clove's bioactive compounds. Results showed that eugenol retention in spray-dried powders could be correlated with antioxidant activity and with mass recovery after spray drying. Adding Gelucire but not Compritol to clove extract formulations, improved solubility of spray dried powders. Stability test in high humidity environment (63.5% RH) suggested that formulations including both Gelucire and Compritol were significantly more stable compared to the formulation without any lipid at the two tested temperatures (25 °C and 40 °C). This suggests that lipid additions to clove (Syzygium aromaticum) extract formulations provide protective effects for the spray dried powders in high-humidity environments. In addition, results from in vitro intestinal permeation studies suggested that eugenol uptake, was not being hindered by transporters nor was the absorption being affected by lipid formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, spray-dried lipid systems based on soy phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and lauroyl polyoxylglycerides for entrapping Green tea polyphenols were produced. The aim was to study the effects of the encapsulating composition and spray drying conditions on the system performance and physicochemical product properties. The spray dryer powder production yield falls around 50.7 ± 2.8%, which is typical for lab scale spray dryers. Wrinkled and rounded particles, with low surface porosities were generated, independent of the drying carriers (trehalose or lactose) used. The product showed high encapsulation efficiency of Green tea polyphenols, which was promptly redispersible in water. It presented low density, and good compressive and flow properties. The results herein reported confirm the feasibility of the entrapment of Green tea polyphenols in lipid-based compositions by spray drying in presence of the drying carriers evaluated. The spray-dried microparticles show high potential to be used as additive in food, nutraceutical and pharmaceutical products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]