Abstract:

Sodium shellac, a thermoplastic polymer, has high surfactant activity. In this study, we attempted to fabricate
vitamin E microcapsule with sodium shellac as the wall material by spray drying. The optimization of process parameters for
improved microencapsulation efficiency was done using one-factor-at-a-time method and response surface methodology. It
turned out that the optimal conditions for preparing vitamin E microcapsule were as follows: hydrophile-lipophile balance
(HLB) of emulsifier, 11; emulsifier dosage, 0.833 g; and ratio of core to wall materials, 1:2.2. Under these conditions,
the microcapsules with microencapsulation efficiency of 78.06% and drug-loading efficiency of 31.8% were obtained as
spherical particles with a smooth surface. The vitamin E microcapsule had high thermal stability and good solubility, and it
exhibited good release performance at neutral pH or in the intestinal environment. Thus, sodium shellac potentially could be
used in the food industry as a good novel microcapsule wall material.

Key words: sodium shellac, vitamin E, microcapsule wall material, spray drying