NANOPARTÍCULAS DE ZEÍNA/PVA INCORPORADAS COM EUGENOL E ÓLEO ESSENCIAL DO CRAVO-DAÍNDIA: OTIMIZAÇÃO DA SÍNTESE E VALIDAÇÃO ANALÍTICA PARA QUANTIFICAÇÃO DO EUGENOL

ZEIN/PVA NANOPARTICLES LOADED WITH EUGENOL AND CLOVE ESSENTIAL OIL: OPTIMIZATION OF SYNTHESIS AND ANALYTICAL VALIDATION FOR EUGENOL QUANTIFICATION.

Nanoparticles of zein (NPZ) stabilized with surfactant polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and nanoparticles of zein/PVA loaded with eugenol (NPZ-Eug) and the essential oil extracted from the clove (Syzygium aromaticum) (NPZ-OC) were produced by nanoprecipitation method. The extraction method of essential oil of the clove was carried out by the hydrodistillation technique, obtaining a content of 81.5% (m/m) of eugenol. The nanoparticle preparation method was optimized using a one-factor-at-a-time design of experiments, where different levels of variables (zein concentration, PVA concentration, and eugenol concentration) were explored. The best condition of synthesis was obtained with 0.3% (m/v) zein, 0.6% (m/v) PVA and 1.5 mg L^-1 eugenol or essential oil of the clove, reaching NPs with acceptable propriety for stable nanoparticulate systems: size particles (NPZ = 113, NPZ-Eug = 229 and NPZ-OC = 279 nm), polydispersity index (PDI < 0.26), and zeta potential (≈ -30 mV). Loaded NPs showed encapsulation efficiency and drug-loading of 52 and 20% (NPZ-Eug), and 62, 27% (NPZ-OC), respectively. The quantification method of eugenol was validated by analytical parameters. Finally, all NPs produced exhibited good colloidal stability, confirming the effectiveness of PVA as a stabilizing agent, which had not been previously reported for these systems. The results obtained provide promising prospects for further investigations into its potential application as a bioinsecticide agent.