Preparation and characterization of nanostarch-based green hard capsules reinforced by cellulose nanocrystals.
The green hard capsules were prepared with corn nano-starch (CNS) and cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) in this study, the glycerol and carrageenan were used as plasticizer and gelling agent in the CNS/CNC gel solution, respectively. The capsule-films with different CNC content were prepared by casting method, and the dipping method was used in preparation of the corresponding capsules. The compatibility of CNS/CNC capsules was analyzed by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and the morphology of the capsules was analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the tensile strength of the CNS based capsule-film was significantly improved with the addition of CNC. When the content of CNC was 6.0%, the tensile strength increased by 238.10%. The transparency of the capsule with different CNC contents was slightly reduced, but was greater than 87.0%. The loss on drying of CNS/CNC capsule was between 12.87% and 15.03%, and it could be completely dissolved in the artificial gastric juice within 6.0 min, which was in accordance with the provisions of Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2015).
['Chen|QiJie|Q|', 'Zong|ZhangYang|Z|', 'Gao|Xin|X|', 'Zhao|YaLan|Y|', 'Wang|JianHui|J|']
D002214:Capsules D002351:Carrageenan D002482:Cellulose D005990:Glycerol D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning D053761:Nanocomposites D053758:Nanoparticles D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared D013213:Starch D013696:Temperature D013718:Tensile Strength D014783:Viscosity D014961:X-Ray Diffraction D003313:Zea mays
Hard capsule Cellulose nanocrystals Corn nano-starch Disintegration time