Rheology and Extrusion Printing of κ-Carrageenan/Olive Oil Emulsion Gel Tablets with Varying Surface Area to Volume Ratios for Release of Vitamin C and Curcumin

In this work, κ-carrageenan and olive oil at different oil to κ-carrageenan ratios (OCR) are homogenized to create emulsion gels. Interestingly, confocal imaging shows that the oil droplets are stabilized in the κ-carrageenan-structured gel matrix without using any surfactants. Rheological studies show that the oil droplets enhanced the oscillatory yield stress and the maximum printable height of the emulsion gels. The creation of the emulsion gels with an OCR of 1:9-3:7 led to an improvement in the structural integrity of extrusion printed structures. The emulsion gel with an OCR of 3:7 efficiently encapsulates vitamin C in the aqueous phase and curcumin in the hydrophobic oil phase, enabling the extrusion 3D printing of tablets with varying surface area to volume (SA/V) ratios. The release of vitamin C and curcumin is influenced by the preparation method of printing versus casting and the SA/V ratio of the tablets. The hollow cylinder with the highest SA/V ratio was observed to have the highest vitamin C release, whereas for curcumin, the printed tablets had a higher release compared to the cast tablet. Additionally, through rheo-dissolution experiments, we observe a lower modulus and higher vitamin C release from the 3D-printed disc versus the higher modulus and lower vitamin C release from the cast disc tablet.