Development and characterization of lutein-loaded SNEDDS for enhanced absorption in Caco-2 cells

Abstract

A self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery system (SNEDDS) has been developed for enhanced oral bioavailability of lutein. Its permeation enhancement has been evaluated using monolayers of Caco-2 cells. SNEDDS is composed of a mixture of Lexol® and Emulmetik® 900, Labrasol®, and Tween 80 as oil, surfactant and co-surfactant, respectively. Upon dilution of lutein-loaded SNEDDS with water, a nanoemulsion was obtained in <10?s with spherical droplets of 40–150?nm in diameter. The zeta potential was in the range of ?19 to ?32?mV. Increasing the ratio of surfactant to co-surfactant decreased the mean droplet size. Dissolution studies showed that lutein was released rapidly (<5?min) from SNEDDS into 0.1?N HCl and pH 6.8 phosphate buffer solution without any aggregation. In vitro studies using Caco-2 cells revealed that lutein-loaded SNEDDS showed shorter lag time and greater (2-fold) cellular accumulation compared with the lutein dispersion.