# Assessment of the Technological Properties of Idebenone and
## 3 Results and Discussion
In particular, the decrease in crystallinity is favorable for compounds entrapment, as lattice defects of the lipid structure could offer space to accommodate the drugs, while high crystalline lipids would lead to drug expulsion [27]. Therefore, the less ordered crystalline structure conferred by IDE could prevent the undesired and premature release of the incorporated drug from the nanoparticles, leading to more stable colloidal suspensions and allowing the modulation of drug release depending on the liquid lipid content. IDE loading into lipid nanocarriers has been explored as a strategy to improve both topical and brain delivery of this synthetic antioxidant [16, 28, 29]. Recently, IDE-loaded NLC prepared using oleic acid and cetyl palmitate as liquid and solid lipid, respectively, have been investigated for the treatment of mitochondrial dysfunctions involved in several neurodegenerative diseases [30], providing promising results for the development of future formulations. The use of ocophenyl acetate as a liquid lipid to prepare IDE-loaded NLC could be regarded as an advantageous strategy as it allows for obtaining lipid nanoparticles whose technological properties could be modulated depending on TA content while incorporating a liquid lipid that is considered beneficial in the treatment of both neurological [31] and topical disorders [32]. Therefore, further studies have been planned to investigate the effectiveness of IDE and TA co-loaded lipid nanoparticles in in vitro models of neurodegenerative and skin diseases. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Sample** & **\(\Delta\)H (/g)** & **RI (\%)** \\ \hline Cetyl palmitate & \(-247.00\) & \(100.00\) \\ \hline SLN & \(-12.90\) & \(74.61\) \\ VIT 1 & \(-10.64\) & \(71.79\) \\ VIT 2 & \(-7.04\) & \(5.00\) \\ VIT 3 & \(-3.53\) & \(35.72\) \\ VIT 3,5 & \(-1.49\) & \(17.23\) \\ VIT 4 & - & - \\ SLN IDE & \(12.24\) & \(70.79\) \\ VIT 1 IDE1,5 & \(10.00\) & \(67.47\) \\ VIT 2 IDE1,5 & \(6.23\) & \(50.44\) \\ VIT 3 IDE1,5 & \(1.88\) & \(19.02\) \\ VIT 3,5 IDE1,5 & \(0.05\) & \(0.58\) \\ VIT 4 IDE1,5 & - & - \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 3: Enthalpy changes (\(\Delta\)H) and recrystallization index (RI%) of unloaded SLN and NLC, IDE-loaded SLN, and 5% \(w/w\) IDE-loaded NLC. Figure 9: Enthalpy variation (\(\Delta\)H) of NLC (unloaded NLC = VIT; \(1.5\%\)\(w/w\), IDE-loaded NLC = VIT IDE1,5), as a function of the percentage of ocophenyl acetate. **Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, L.M. ; methodology, L.M. and M.G.S. ; validation, L.M. and M.G.S. ; formal analysis, L.M. and M.G.S. ; investigation, L.M., M.G.S., C.T. ; resources, L.M., M.G.S., R.P., F.C. ; writing--original draft preparation, L.M. and M.G.S. ; writing--review and editing, L.M., M.G.S., R.P., F.C. ; visualization, L.M. and M.G.S. ; supervision, L.M. ; project administration, L.M. ; funding acquisition, L.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This research was funded by the University of Catania, Bando FIR 2014, Progetto di ricerca Cod. 764 AAD. **Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable. **Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable. **Data Availability Statement:** Data is contained within the article. **Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.