Enlargement of Nanoemulsion Region in Pseudo-ternary Mixing Diagrams for a Drug Delivery System

The purpose of this research was to develop the pseudo-ternary mixing diagrams for a potential drug delivery system consisting of vitamin E (potential drug) + soybean oil + surfactant + co-surfactant (anhydrous glycerol) + water. The potential drug (vitamin E) was loaded in the oil phase. The effects of different surfactants (pure and mixed) on the mixing diagrams, especially on the nanoemulsion region, were investigated. The influence of the drug loading level on the mixing diagrams was also determined. The surfactants studied were polyethoxylated (20) sorbitan monolaurate, polyethoxylated (20) sorbitan monooleate, polyethoxylated (35) castor oil and their mixtures. The size (area) of the nanoemulsion region of the mixing diagrams was found to be dependent on the type of surfactant used and the loading level of the drug (vitamin E).