Preparation of peppermint essential oil nanoemulsion via sonication and thermalsynthesis for potential hydrophobic drug delivery application

Nanoemulsions are dispersions of small liquid droplets of one phase dispersed in anotherliquid known as continuous phase. They have potential applications in medical treatmentsdue to their ability to enhance the solubility of polar substances in non-polar ones and viceversa. In this study, Design Expert software was used to prepare oil-in-water nanoemulsionswith different weight percentages of peppermint essential oil and non-ionic surfactant (Tween۸۰) and co-surfactant (PEG ۴۰۰) using the sonication method at ۷۰⁰C. The optimal drugloadingnanoemulsion formulation based on particle size and stability after one month wasaimed to be obtained. The optimal nanoemulsion formulation had weight values of ۱۱.۲۵wt% surfactant, ۱.۲۵ wt% co-surfactant and ۱۲.۵ wt% peppermint essential oil. It had asuitable size (<۲۰۰ nm), high stability during one month at ۲۵⁰C. This formulation can beused to produce nanoemulsions for loading hydrophobic drugs soluble in peppermintessential oil.

کلیدواژه ها:

Peppermint Oil ، Oil-in-water Nanoemulsion ، Tween ۸۰ ، PEG ۴۰۰ ، DrugDelivery ، Sonication