THE INFLUENCE OF SUCROSE ESTER SURFACTANTS AND DIFFERENT STORAGE CONDITIONS ON THE PREPARATION OF A NOVEL SWIETENIA MACROPHYLLA OIL NANO-EMULSION

Nano-emulsions are emulsions with uniform and extremely small droplet sizes, typically in the range of 20–200 nm. Nano-emulsion concept has attracted considerable attention in recent years for its application in personal care and cosmetic products also due to their ability to improve the penetration and permeation of active ingredients through the skin. A composition of sucrose ester as surfactant, glycerol and Swietenia macrophylla oil were used to produce nano-emulsion by simple mixing and applying heat to dissolve the sucrose ester in the glycerol then adding the oil to the mixture. Three different types of sucrose ester (laureate, oleate and palmitate) were used to investigate their influence on the production of nano-size emulsion. Sucrose laureate produced nano-emulsion with good droplet size, polydispersity index and negative zeta potential compared to oleate and palmitate. The oil droplet size produced using sucrose laureate was below 200 nm with polydispersity index 0.2 and negative zeta potential lower than -40 mV. Stability study was conducted for the nano-emulsion at different temperatures (4 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C) for six months. Nano-emulsion formulation was very stable at 4 °C compared to 25 °C and 40 °C while at 25 °C showed moderate stability but it was unstable at 40 °C. The nano-emulsion containing the novel Swietenia macrophylla oil was successfully prepared using sucrose laureate and the ideal storage condition for nano-emulsion was 4 °C.