Abstract

*Harshal Patil, Baliram Gadhve, Manjiree Girdhar, Chetan Pillai and Jyotsna Waghmare

ABSTRACT

This study has been conducted to develop stable microemulsion systems incorporating grape seed oil using sorbitol esters (UNITOP SMO) and ethoxylated surfactants (POLYSORBATE 80) as emulsifying agents. Grape seed oil was used because of its high amount of linoleic acid (62.246%) and the stability indices for the oil were excellent (acid value: 0.2, peroxide value: 1.3), which promoted its suitability for topical delivery. Four surfactant blends were studied on a pseudo-multipart model by varying the amounts of surfactants and creating the emulsion using phase diagrams using the water titration method with a hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) range of 9.7-12.9. The emulsions were characterized for particle size, electrical conductivity, pH, density, and stability parameters and significant particle size distributions were appropriately sized between O/W (oil-in-water) and W/O (water-in-oil) microemulsions with the O/W microemulsions using the higher HLB values (11.6-12.9) reporting 53.8-121.5 nm particle sizes and the W/O microemulsions using the higher HLB values (11.6-12.9) exhibiting particle sizes of 102.5-363.3 nm. The electrical conductivities were able to differentiate the microemulsions as the O/W microemulsions ranged from 177.5-184.2 μS/cm while the W/O microemulsions ranged from 69.3-89.3 μS/cm. All formulations underwent resolved thermodynamic stability (no phase separation was noted after centrifugation and 30-day studies) for stability characterization of the formulations. The use of all biodegradable ingredients complies with green chemistry principles and provides sustainable environmental alternatives to existing synthetic systems. Overall, the microemulsions produced in this study provide a viable approach for applications within cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and nutraceuticals, most cases with an O/W microemulsion having significantly more potential.