LAUSR

Abstract Nanoemulsions (NE) are employed as carrier systems of lipophilic active compounds that have low bioavailability and need to be protected from the environment; such as curcumin. In this study, enzymatically prepared monoacylglycerides (MAG) and diacylglycerides (DAG) structured with three bioactive lipids: conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), and ω-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FA). The highest amounts of MAG and DAG containing ω-3 (68.8%) were obtained at 75 °C, 3:1 substrate molar ratios (SMR), 15% of Novozyme 435 and 400 rpm for 90 min. MAG and DAG containing CLA (96.84%) were successfully produced at 40 °C, 1:1 w/w, 15% of lipase RMLM and 400 rpm, for 60 min. Finally, MCFA (95.16%) were prepared at 50 °C with a substrates ratio of 1:1 w/w, 5% of Novozyme 435, and 300 rpm for 30 min. Seven nanoemulsions were formulated using: MAG-ω-3, DAG-ω-3, MAG-CLA, and DAG-CLA individually, as well as reaction mixtures containing MAG and DAG, and MCFA. All exhibited desirable characteristics of average particle size (d < 200 nm), polydispersity index (PDI; <0.2) and zeta potential (≈−30 mV) and in most cases, the NE maintained their physical properties for up to 5 weeks. It was also determined that when using the reaction mixture containing a high percentage of MAG and DAG of each lipid, the resulting NE exhibited better performance. Practical applications Nanoemulsions are a new and novel carrier for the transportation of bioactive compounds that can be affected during digestion. Then, the use of the enzyme-catalysed synthesis of structured lipids as emulsifiers is an alternative for increasing the bioavailability of compounds such as curcumin.