Synthesis and Dynamic light scattering of Quercetin -loaded Nano-micelles

Aim and Background: Drug-loaded micro emulsions are composed of oil, a surfactant, a co-surfactant, a drug, and water. Quercetin as an oil-soluble drug has potential applications in different fields due to its antitumor and antioxidative properties. In this effort, we analyzed the physicochemical properties of Quercetin-loaded oil-in-water micro emulsions at different mass fraction of droplet (MFD) values (from 0.01 up to 0.08) and fixed oil content (Ow = 1) by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS). Methods: F127 microemulsions synthesized by mixing the required amounts of F127, fatty acids, phosphate-buffered saline (PBS at pH 7.4), and Quercetin -containing ethyl butyrate at a fixed oil-to-surfactant molar ratio Ow = [oil]/[F127] = 1. The F127 micro emulsions diluted with PBS based on the MFD at room temperature. According to the DLS theory, for the dynamic study of Nano-scale oil droplets containing Quercetin, the autocorrelation function is achieved by using the DLS technique. Results and discussion: DLS data showed that the droplet size decreased with MFD. Also, the results indicated that the slope of the collective diffusion of the nano-micelles containing Quercetin as a function of MFD is positive. Conclusion: oil-in-water pluronic F127-based micro emulsions containing the Quercetin were prepared at a fixed oil-to-surfactant molar ratio (Ow = [oil]/[F127]=1) and oil Nano-droplet MFD between 0.01 up to 0.1 by means of DLS and dynamic surface tension (DST). DLS data showed that by increasing the MFD, the droplet size decreased and the interactions between Nano-droplets were repulsive.