Spectral Features and In Vitro Antioxidant Study of Nanoscale Solid Dispersions of Different Sizes of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) Prepared by Heat Melt and High-pressure Homogenization Method

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) has been reported as a powerful antioxidant in plasma. Recent in vivo investigations showed that cosmetically applied CoQ10 can reduce photo-aging. However, CoQ10 was barely satisfactory in topical drug delivery because of its poor solubility and high molecular weight. To improve the anti-oxidative efficiency of CoQ10 in skin photo-aging, a novel water-soluble nanoscale solid dispersion of CoQ10 (CoQ10-SD) was prepared by heat melt and high-pressure homogenization method in the present study. Three sizes of CoQ10-SDs were obtained and characterized. The spectral investigations showed that the smaller particle size solution of CoQ10-SD was more effective against ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The UVB radiation absorption and reflection of the CoQ10-SD solution increased with increasing concentration and decreasing particle size. The in vitro antioxidants of CoQ10-SD were also assessed. The results showed that, smaller particle size results in higher antioxidant effect. A lower level of intracellular reactive oxygen species was found when the myocardial cells were treated with CoQ10-SD of smaller size. These findings indicated that CoQ10-SD can be an effective cosmetic delivery system to protect the skin from early aging induced by UV.