Interpretation of small-angle X-ray scattering patterns of crystalline triglyceride nanoparticles in dispersion

Triglyceride nanocrystals in aqueous dispersion produced by high-pressure melt homogenization exhibit platelet-like shapes and clear but broadened Bragg reflections in the small-angle scattering regime. Because the particle thickness, the thickness of the stabilizer layer, the length scale of the crystalline structure of the nanoparticles and often the interparticle distances are of the same order of magnitude, the scattering of these structures mutually interferes. This leads to complicated small-angle scattering patterns which exhibit a lot of features, but it is not straightforward to discover the contained information on the structure of the system. In this contribution, a scattering model for such systems will be described, which is based on the kinematic scattering theory of X-rays. Using this scattering model an X-ray powder pattern simulation analysis is introduced to gain information on tripalmitin nanosuspensions which have been investigated by synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering. It will be demonstrated that the results of this method provide a consistent description of all structural details mentioned above. In particular, information on the extension and the molecular packing density of the stabilizer layers can be achieved because these layers exhibit a comparatively large scattering contrast.