Preparation and Property Study of Fish Oil Microemulsion

Objective To prepare fish oil microemulsion and investigate its properties.Methods The O/W fish oil microemulsion was prepared by using edible soybean oil and propanetriol as the oil-phase solvent,polyoxyethylene sorbitan monooleate(Tween 80) and lactose(9:1.w/w) as the surfactant phase.The effects of salinity and pH on the microemulsion region were determined with pseudo-ternary phase diagrams.The further investigations into conductivity,particle size and rheological characteristics of the microemulsion were performed.Results The fish oil microemulsion had good salt and pH tolerance.The mean particle size was in the range of 10～100 nm,indicating that the microemulsion had desired stability.The rheological study suggested that the microemulsion sample,with the ratio of surfactant phase to oil phase of 9:1 and water content of 80%(w/w),was pseudoplastic fluid with the shear-thinning behavior.Conclusion Microemulison is a new and convenient method to encapsulate fish oil with good stability.