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Modified Cellulose Nanocrystal for Vitamin C Delivery

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Abstract

Cellulose nanocrystal grafted with chitosan oligosaccharide (CNC-CSOS) was used to encapsulate vitamin C and prepare CNCS/VC complexes using tripolyphosphte via ionic complexation. The stability of vitamin C and the antioxidant activity of the CNCS/VC complexes were elucidated. The formation of the complex was confirmed using DSC and UV–vis spectrophotometry, and TEM was used to study the morphology of the complexes. The encapsulation efficiency of vitamin C at pH 3 and 5 was 71.6% ± 6.8 and 91.0 ± 1.0, respectively. Strong exothermic peaks observed in isothermal titration calorimetric (ITC) studies at pH 5 could be attributed to additional electrostatic interactions between CNC-CSOS and vitamin C at pH 5. The in vitro release of vitamin C from CNCS/VC complexes showed a sustained release of up to 20 days. The vitamin C released from CNCS/VC complex displayed higher stability compared with the control vitamin C solution, and this was also confirmed from the ITC thermograms. CNC-CSOS possessed a higher scavenging activity and faster antioxidant activity compared with its precursors, i.e., oxidized CNC and CSOS and their physical mixtures. Complexing vitamin C into CNC-CSOS particles yielded a dynamic antioxidant agent, where the vitamin C is released over time and displayed sustained antioxidant properties. Therefore, CNCS/VC can potentially be used in cosmeceutical applications as topical formulations.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We wish to acknowledge FPInnovations and Celluforce Inc. for providing the cellulose nanocrystals, and the research funding from Celluforce and AboraNano facilitated the research on CNC. We would also like to thank Moin Ahmed and Anthony Wang for their assistance with the antioxidant studies. S. P. Akhlaghi acknowledges César Brinatti for his valuable discussion on ITC. K. C. Tam wishes to acknowledge funding from CFI and NSERC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Seyedeh Parinaz Akhlaghi & Kam Chiu Tam

  2. CelluForce Inc, 625, Président-Kennedy Avenue, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1 K2, Canada

    Richard M Berry

Authors
  1. Seyedeh Parinaz Akhlaghi
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  2. Richard M Berry
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  3. Kam Chiu Tam
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Correspondence to Kam Chiu Tam.

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Akhlaghi, S.P., Berry, R.M. & Tam, K.C. Modified Cellulose Nanocrystal for Vitamin C Delivery. AAPS PharmSciTech 16, 306–314 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-014-0218-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1208/s12249-014-0218-4

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