Non-Disruptive Measurement of Encapsulation Efficiency For Hydrophobic Actives

Encapsulation of hydrophobic actives is an important area of research, affecting the personal care, home care, antimicrobial, life science, and agricultural industries. It is important that the encapsulation efficiency be tested in order to determine what the free (or un-encapsulated) hydrophobic active is and where encapsulation yield improvement can occur. Cyclodextrins have a unique structure in that they are water soluble due to their hydrophilic groups in the exterior, but form a strong complex with hydrophobic molecules with their interior hydrophobic cavity. A non-disruptive measurement of encapsulation efficiency for hydrophobic actives was successfully developed by employing a cyclodextrin as a complexation agent. The development of this method provides an analytical tool for more accurate assessment of encapsulation efficiency.