The effect of structured triglycerides on the kinetic stability of total nutrient admixtures.

Purpose The physical stability of two types of total parenteral nutrient (TPN) admixtures was studied as a function of storage time and temperature. One of them contained only structured triglycerides and the other exclusively long-chain triglycerides as lipid components. Methods Droplet size of the mixtures was followed by photon correlation spectroscopy for 10 days. Zeta potential and dynamic surface tension measurements were carried out to evaluate the possible changes in the charge and interfacial surface tension of the emulsion droplets during the storage. pH values were monitored in order to follow the possible decomposition processes in the course of storage. Results Droplet size of emulsions prepared with lipids containing exclusively long-chain triglycerides showed remarkable increase after 4 days of storage in contrast with that of the mixtures containing structured lipids. Conclusions The obtained results indicate that besides the advantageous metabolic effects of structured triglycerides, their application is recommended to improve the physical stability of TPN admixtures.