Stability of β-carotene in polyethylene oxide electrospun nanofibers

• Published in: Applied surface science 2016-05, Vol.370, p.111-116
• Main Authors: Peinado, I., Mason, M., Romano, A., Biasioli, F., Scampicchio, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Differential scanning calorimetry; Electrospinning; Joining; Nanofibers; Poly-(ethylene oxide); Proton transfer–mass spectroscopy (PTR–MS); Scanning electron microscopy; Shelf life; Stability; Thermal stability; Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA); β-carotene
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2016.02.150

[Display omitted] •β-carotene was incorporated into PEO-nanofibers by electrospinning.•Properties of the fibers were analyzed by SEM, color analysis, and DSC.•TGA coupled to PTR–ms resulted promising to online-monitoring thermal degradation.•Thermal stability of βc increased after encapsulation into the PEO-nanofibers. β-carotene (βc) was successfully incorporated into electrospun nanofibers of poly-(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with the aim of prolonging its shelf life and thermal stability. The physical and thermal properties of the βc-PEO-nanofibers were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), color analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The nanofibers of PEO and βc-PEO exhibited average fiber diameters of 320±46 and 230±21nm, with colorimetric coordinates L*=95.7±2.4 and 89.4±4.6 and b*=−0.5±0.1 and 6.2±3.0 respectively. Thermogravimetric analysis coupled with Proton Transfer–Mass Spectroscopy (TGA/PTR–ms) demonstrated that coated βc inside PEO nanofibers increased thermal stability when compared to standard βc in powder form. In addition, β-carotene in the membranes showed higher stability during storage when compared with β-carotene in solution with a decrease in concentration of 57±4% and 70±2% respectively, thus should extend the shelf life of this compound. Also, TGA coupled with PTR–MS resulted in a promising technique to online-monitoring thermal degradation.