Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi 221005, India.
Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, Mumbai 400019, India.
Ultrason Sonochem. 2017 May;36:367-374. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.11.037. Epub 2016 Dec 1.
Nanoemulsion synthesis has proven to be an effective way for transportation of immobile, insoluble bioactive compounds. Citronella Oil (lemongrass oil), a natural plant extract, can be used as a mosquito repellent and has less harmful effects compared to its available market counterpart DEET (N, N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide). Nanoemulsion of citronella oil in water was prepared using cavitation-assisted techniques while investigating the effect of system parameters like HLB (Hydrophilic Lipophilic Balance), surfactant concentration, input energy density and mode of power input on emulsion quality. The present work also examines the effect of emulsification on release rate to understand the relationship between droplet size and the release rate. Minimum droplet size (60nm) of the emulsion was obtained at HLB of 14, S/O ratio of 1.0, ultrasound amplitude of 50% and irradiation time of 5min. This study revealed that hydrodynamic cavitation-assisted emulsification is more energy efficient compared to ultrasonic emulsification. It was also found that the release rate of nanoemulsion enhanced as the droplet size of emulsion reduced.
纳米乳液合成已被证明是一种有效的方法，可以用于运输不溶、不可移动的生物活性化合物。香茅油（柠檬草油）是一种天然植物提取物，可用作驱蚊剂，与市场上可用的对二乙氨基甲酰基间甲苯酚（N，N-二乙基间甲苯甲酰胺，DEET）相比，其有害影响较小。本研究使用空化辅助技术制备香茅油纳米乳液，同时考察系统参数如亲水亲油平衡值（HLB）、表面活性剂浓度、输入能量密度和功率输入方式对乳液质量的影响。本工作还考察了乳化作用对释放速率的影响，以了解液滴尺寸与释放速率之间的关系。在 HLB 值为 14、S/O 比为 1.0、超声幅度为 50%和辐照时间为 5min 的条件下，乳液的最小粒径（60nm）。研究表明，与超声乳化相比，空化辅助乳化更节能。还发现，随着乳液液滴尺寸的减小，纳米乳液的释放速率增加。
