Ascorbic Acid Encapsulation in Hydrophobic Silica Xerogel

Mariana V. Revuelta^1,2, Marcela B. Fernández van Raap³, Pedro Mendoza Zélis³, Francisco H. Sánchez³ and Guillermo R. Castro^1,4*

¹Center of Applied Biotechnology (CINDEFI), National University of La Plata (UNLP), National Research Council (CONICET), 50 Street #227, C.P. 1900 La Plata, Argentina
²National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
³La Plata Physics Institute (IFLP), Department of Physics, National University of La Plata (UNLP), La Plata, Argentina
⁴Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, MA 02155, USA

Article history:
Received September 16, 2010
Accepted February 9, 2011

Key words:
hydrophobic silica xerogel, ascorbic acid, packaging, fortified food

Summary:
Self-assembled hybrid organo-silica sol-gel materials are rapidly expanding for new and novel applications. The microporous solid silica matrix was used as a carrier for the controlled release of ascorbic acid (AA), selected as cargo molecule. One-step synthesis procedure was optimized for the preparation of silica–molecule composites by using tetraethoxysilane and methyltrimethoxysilane as precursors. The hydrophobic silica xerogel matrices were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction. Specific surface area and porosity parameters were determined by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) technique and the matrix surface morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The observed release pattern could be interesting for the development of AA-fortified food and for use in food packaging.

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