Stable and biodegradable oil in water (O/W) nanoemulsions  are one of the most common types of nanoformulations used for delivery and release of hydrophobic compounds, particularly biologically active substances (such as drugs, vitamins, hormones, pigments, antioxidants, pesticides, contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging or positron emission tomography). The main goal of such carriers is to improve performance of the encapsulated compounds through their protection against degradation, reduction of toxicity by decreasing the adverse effects of body tissues and/or increasing the bioavailability of such sparingly water-soluble substances. Due to the thermodynamic instability of nanoemulsions, it is a great challenge to obtain stable droplets. Hence, surface-active agents (surfactants) are commonly used to stabilize oil droplets as they are able to adsorb at the water/oil interface leading to the reduction of the surface tension. It causes a disruption of the droplet surface, reduction of their sizes and prevents their aggregation due to repulsive electrostatic forces. Nevertheless, dilution of such suspensions results in removal of the surfactants from the interface and uncontrolled release of encapsulated compound before reaching the target what is highly unfavorable from the application point of view.

For biomedical applications or food industry it is important to minimize the number of components of such system, as any additive can interact with tissues and cause the adverse side effects.

 

The present invention provides novel biocompatible “core-shell” systems and  the surfactant-free method of their preparation using macromolecular compounds. Biocompatible nanocapsules with liquid cores which enable effective encapsulation of hydrophobic compounds are stabilized without low molecular weight surfactants. These beneficial features significantly increase the range of possible applications.

 

Advantages of the innovation:

✓    resistance to  changes of environmental parameters (pH or concentration) 

✓    wide range of applications, for example as carriers of lipophilic compounds of low bioavailability or nanoreactors in enzymatic and/or biological processes

✓    reduced risk of damage of active compounds and enhanced loading capacity as a result of direct encapsulation during of the process of preparation of the capsules

✓    simplicity of the manufacturing process

✓    low energy and financial investment in the production process

Nanocapsules for delivery of lipophilic compounds and method of their preparation are subject of patent application.

Currently the Center for Technology Transfer CITTRU is looking for entities interested in commercial application of describe innovation: licencing and/or collaboration with scientists from Faculty of Chemistry (Jagiellonian University)