Compatibility of intravenous fat emulsions with prodrug amino acids.

Three prodrugs, N-alpha-acetyl-L-arginine, N-alpha-acetyl-L-histidine and N-alpha-acetyl-L-lysine have been examined to see if they could induce significant changes in the stability of an intravenous fat emulsion, the stability being evaluated in terms of physicochemical measurements such as particle size distribution, surface tension, pH and zeta potential. The acetyl amino acids had an excellent stabilizing effect on the emulsion compared with amino acids without acetyl groups.