Physicochemical stability assessments of lipid emulsions of varying oil composition

• Published in: Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 151 - 157
• Main Authors: DRISCOLL, D.F., GIAMPIETRO, K., WICHELHAUS, D.P., PETERSS, H., NEHNE, J., NIEMANN, W., BISTRIAN, B.R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier Ltd 01-04-2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy; Biological and medical sciences; Chemical Phenomena; Chemistry, Physical; Drug Stability; Emergency and intensive care: metabolism and nutrition disorders. Enteral and parenteral nutrition; Excipients; Fat Emulsions, Intravenous - chemistry; Food Handling; Humans; Intensive care medicine; lipid emulsions; MCT; Medical sciences; Oleic Acid; Olive Oil; Parenteral Nutrition; Particle Size; Plant Oils; Safflower Oil; soyabean oil; Soybean Oil; Time Factors; safflower oil; olive oil; lipid emulsions; parenteral nutrition; soyabean oil; MCT; Human; Sunflower oil; Intravenous administration; Nutrition; Chemical stability; Fat emulsion; Lipids; Olive oil; Soybean oil; Comparative study; Physicochemical properties; Parenteral administration
• ISSN: 0261-5614; 1532-1983
• DOI: 10.1054/clnu.2001.0375

Background and aims: Intravenous lipid emulsions have been shown to be unstable when the percent fat >5 μm (PFAT >5 μm) exceeds 0.4% by weight of the total fat present. We investigated the physicochemical stability of a standard low amino acid and carbohydrate mixture containing electrolytes when combined with four different commercial intravenous lipid emulsions of varying oil composition. Methods: The 20% (w/v) lipid emulsions studied were composed of the following oils (by weight): 1) 1 : 1 soybean/safflower (SS); 2) 100% soybean (S); 3) 1 : 1 soybean/MCT (SM) and 4) 4 : 1 olive/soybean (OS). Physicochemical stability was assessed by light obscuration or extinction using a single-particle optical sensing technique to detect growth of fat globules in the large diameter tail (>1 μm) of the droplet size distribution and by visual analyses for evidence of phase separation. Results: The physicochemical stability of SS and S-based all-in-one mixtures significantly deteriorated over time when compared to the mixtures made from SM and OS. In addition, of the four mixtures studied that contained SS (n=2) and S (n=2), only one of each bag studied showed visually obvious destabilization by the presence of free oil from phase separation, despite highly abnormal changes in the globule size distribution of all four preparations. Conclusion: The results suggest that all-in-one mixtures composed of either soybean oil alone or in combination with safflower oil are less stable than those mixed with either MCT or olive oil which also contain sodium oleate that can act as co-emulsifying agent.