Gemini dodecyl O-glucoside-based vesicles as nanocarriers for catechin laurate

- Gemini surfactant-based vesicles with high loading capacity for catechin laurate.
- Regulation effects of catechin laurate on vesicle bilayer fluidity.
- Notable inhibitory effect of vesicle-loaded catechin laurate on liposome oxidation.

In this work, gemini dodecyl O-glucoside-based vesicles were successfully developed employing (+)-catechin (C) and (−)-epigallocatechin (EGC) laurate as model compounds. Results revealed that vesicles displayed high loading capacity for both C and EGC laurate and the incorporation of C or EGC laurate were confirmed by dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscope, Fourier-transform infrared spectra, and differential scanning calorimetry analyses. C and EGC laurate stiffened the vesicle bilayer at low concentrations but created a remarkable increase in the membrane fluidity afterward. Vesicles readily underwent aggregation under thermal treatment and osmotic stress. The thermal stability of C and EGC laurate were significantly improved by vesicle encapsulation. Compared with C and EGC, encapsulated C and EGC laurate exhibited lower 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) radical-scavenging activity due to the shielding effect of vesicles but higher lipid-oxidation inhibitory ability because they preferentially concentrated in the liposome membrane.