Sodium selenite is used to prevent
selenium deficiency known as nutritional
muscular dystrophy or
white muscle disease. In ruminants,
selenium supplements are transformed partiality in insoluble form by ruminal microorganisms and its process decrease the
selenium absorption in digestive gastrointestinal. However, the objective in this research was focused in encapsulated
sodium selenite to be release into of a pH less than four, similarity to an intestinal environment. It was encapsulated by nanoprecipitation and
emulsion-evaporation methods, within polymeric nanoparticles. The effect of these methods,
polymer proportion (
Eudragit RL and RS) and
solvent (
ethanol and
acetone) on the physicochemical (
drug entrapment, polidispersity index (PDI) and z potential) and morphological characteristics (particle morphology and particle size) were evaluated. Particle size from each nanoparticles, formulation ranged from 36.64 to 213.86 nm. Particle size, z potential and PDI increased (P <or= 0.01) when nanoprecipitation and
ethanol were used. No significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed when different polymeric proportions were used.
Selenium entrapment was 26% when
emulsion-evaporation method was used and 78% with nanoprecipitation. Nanoparticles produced by nanoprecipitation were spherical and had a great variation in particle size; on the other hand, nanoparticles produced by
emulsion-evaporation were spherical as well as amorphous and presented a homogeneous nanopartcicle size distribution. The release of
selenium from nanoparticles was higher in
acid pH (less than 4), this condition may represent a better availability of the
mineral in the small intestine.