Destabilising Pickering emulsions by drop flocculation and adhesion

Impact of ultrasound process on cassava starch nanoparticles and Pickering emulsions stability

Using green techniques to convert native starches into nanoparticles is an interesting approach to producing stabilizers for Pickering emulsions, aiming at highly stable emulsions in clean label products. Nanoprecipitation was used to prepare the Pickering starch nanoparticles, while ultrasound technique has been used to modulate the size of these nanoparticles at the same time as the emulsion was developed. Thus, the main objective of this study was to evaluate the stabilizing effect of cassava starch nanoparticles (SNP) produced by the nanoprecipitation technique combined with ultrasound treatment carried out in the presence of water and oil (more hydrophobic physicochemical environment), different from previous studies that carry out the mechanical treatment only in the presence of water. The results showed that the increased ultrasound energy input could reduce particle size (117.58 to 55.75 nm) and polydispersity (0.958 to 0.547) in aqueous dispersions. Subsequently, Pickering emulsions stabilized by SNPs showed that increasing emulsification (ultrasonication) time led to smaller droplet sizes and monomodal size distribution. Despite flocculation, long-term ultrasonication (6 and 9 min) caused little variation in the droplet size after 7 days of storage. The cavitation effects favored the interaction between oil droplets through weak attraction forces and particle sharing, favoring the Pickering stabilization against droplet coalescence. Our results show the potential to use only physical modifications to obtain nanoparticles that can produce coalescence-stable emulsions that are environmentally friendly.

Pickering emulsion gel of polyunsaturated fatty acid-rich oils stabilized by zein-tannic acid green nanoparticles for storage and oxidation stability enhancement

HYPOTHESIS

Poor storage stability and oxidative deterioration are the common drawbacks of edible oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). We hypothesized that the natural zein/tannic acid self-assembly nanoparticles (ZT NPs) could be employed as stabilizers to anchor at the oil-water interface, thus constructing Pickering emulsion gel (PKEG) system for three types of PUFA-rich oils, soybean oil (SO), fish oil (FO) and cod liver oil (CLO), to improve the storage and oxidation stability.

EXPERIMENTS

ZT NPs were prepared by the anti-solvent coprecipitation method, and the three-phase contact angle, FT-IR, and XRD were mainly characterized. To observe the shell-core structure and oil-water interface details of SO/FO/CLO PKEGs by confocal laser scanning microscope and cryo-scanning electron microscope. Accelerated oxidation of FO was performed to assess the protective effect of PKEG on lipids.

FINDINGS

The SO, FO, and CLO PKEGs stabilized by 2 % ZT NPs, with oil fraction (φ = 0.5-0.6), were obtained. PKEGs show high viscoelasticity, clear shell-core structure spatial network structure, and ideal storage stability. Under accelerated oxidation, the degree of oxidative rancidity of FO PKEG was obviously lower than that of free FO. Overall, this work opens up new possibilities for using natural PKEG to prevent oxidative deterioration and prolong the shelf-life of PUFA-rich oils.

Interactions between interfaces dictate stimuli-responsive emulsion behaviour

Stimuli-responsive emulsions offer a dual advantage, combining long-term storage with controlled release triggered by external cues such as pH or temperature changes. This study establishes that thermo-responsive emulsion behaviour is primarily determined by interactions between, rather than within, interfaces. Consequently, the stability of these emulsions is intricately tied to the nature of the stabilizing microgel particles - whether they are more polymeric or colloidal, and the morphology they assume at the liquid interface. The colloidal properties of the microgels provide the foundation for the long-term stability of Pickering emulsions. However, limited deformability can lead to non-responsive emulsions. Conversely, the polymeric properties of the microgels enable them to spread and flatten at the liquid interface, enabling stimuli-responsive behaviour. Furthermore, microgels shared between two emulsion droplets in flocculated emulsions facilitate stimuli-responsiveness, regardless of their internal architecture. This underscores the pivotal role of microgel morphology and the forces they exert on liquid interfaces in the control and design of stimuli-responsive emulsions and interfaces.

Destabilization of Pickering emulsions by interfacial transport of mutually soluble solute

HYPOTHESIS

Pickering emulsions (PEs) once formed are highly stable because of very high desorption energies (∼10⁷ k_BT) associated with particles adsorbed to the interfaces. The destabilization of PEs is required in many instances for recovery of valuable chemicals, products and active compounds. We propose to exploit interfacial instabilities develop by the addition of different types of solutes to PEs as a route to engineer their destabilization.

EXPERIMENTS

PEs stabilized by (i) spherical particles, (ii) non-spherical particles, (iii) oppositely charged particle-particle mixtures, and (iv) oppositely charged particle-polyelectrolyte mixtures are formulated. Different types of solutes are added to these highly stable PEs and the macroscopic as well as microscopic changes induced in the PEs is recorded by visual observation and bright field optical microscopy.

FINDINGS

Our results point to a simple yet robust method to induce destabilization of PEs by transiently perturbing the oil-water interface by transport of a mutually soluble solute across the interface. The generality of the method is demonstrated for different kind of solutes and stabilizers including particles of different sizes (nm to µm), shapes (sphere, spheroids, spherocylinders) and types (polystyrene, metal oxides). The method works for both oil-in-water (o/w) and water-in-oil (w/o) PEs with different kinds of non-polar solvents as oil-phase. However, the method fails when the solute is insoluble in one of the phases of PEs. The study opens up a new approach to destabilization of particle stabilized emulsions.

Demulsification of Bacteria-Stabilized Pickering Emulsions Using Modified Silica Nanoparticles

Pickering emulsions stabilized by bacteria acting as particle emulsifiers are new platforms for microbial transformations of hydrophobic chemicals. However, their high stability often hampers demulsification during downstream processing. Since the existing methods (like addition of surfactants) to demulsify bacteria-stabilized Pickering emulsions have negative effects, new practical methods need to be developed. Here, using chemically modified fumed silica particles with different hydrophobicity, the demulsification of W/O Pickering emulsions stabilized by Mycobacterium neoaurum whole cells was first studied. The binary particle-stabilized emulsions exhibited phase inversion and dewatering induced by the coalescence of W/O emulsions or creaming of O/W emulsions. The silica particle hydrophobicity and concentration were the important parameters influencing the emulsion type, droplet morphology, and dewatering rate. The highest dewatering rate and largest droplet size were obtained at the inversion point from W/O to O/W. Confocal microscopy showed that no interaction between the bacteria and silica particles existed and the silica particle adsorption at the interface induced the detachment of bacteria from the interface, revealing that there was competitive adsorption between the binary particles at the interface. Based on these results, we suggested that the average hydrophobicity of the binary particles at the interface would determine the emulsion type and stability. Finally, this strategy was successfully applied to the demulsification of the Pickering emulsion formed during microbial transformation of sterols. Overall, this study provides a new strategy to demulsify Pickering emulsions by addition of another particle emulsifier. This is also the first example of separation of products as well as organic phases after microbial transformation in Pickering emulsions.

Emulsions stabilised with pectin-based microgels: investigations into the effect of pH and ionic strength on emulsion stability

Pectin-based microgel particles (MGPs) are encouraging sustainable emulsifying agents for food-applications. Based on polyelectrolytes, pectin-based MGPs are assumed to be pH and ionic strength sensitive, in a similar manner to MGPs of synthetic polymers. Besides building a barrier around oil droplets, charged MGPs repulse each other. Thus the stabilisation mechanisms of pectin-based MGPs should be both steric and electrostatic. To investigate this, emulsions were homogenised with MGP concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 2 wt% MGPs. After emulsification, the pH of the emulsions was adjusted to 4, 3, or 2; and the resulting droplet sizes were measured. We found out that the droplet size and the appearance of agglomerates increased with decreasing pH values. This was caused by the loss of the MGP surface charge, as stated by their ζ-potential, showing an increase from -33.71 ± 4.1 mV for samples with pH 4 to -17 ± 0.6 mV, and -3.4 ± 0.6 mV for pH 3 and 2, respectively. However, the degree of coalescence was dependent on the MGP concentration, as samples with 0.5 wt% coalesced more readily than samples with 2 wt% MGP. These results help understand the emulsion stabilisation mechanisms of pectin-based MGPs and what effect formulation parameters have on the long-term stability of MGP-stabilised emulsions.

Effect of cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide on the properties of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsion and its cured poly(L-lactic acid) materials

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsions were prepared by dichloromethane (CH₂ Cl₂ ) dissolved poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) as the oil phase and the deionized water with different concentrations of cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) as the aqueous phase. Effect of CTAB concentration on emulsions type and stability were studied. The emulsion type underwent a two-phase inversion, and emulsion stability increased first and then decreased with increasing CTAB concentrations. Besides, effect of CTAB concentration on zeta potential, aggregate size, contact angle of HAp nanoparticles and the oil-water interfacial tension were studied. The results indicated that zeta potential value of HAp nanoparticles changed from negative to positive, and the contact angle increased to over 80° initially and then decreased to below 40° rapidly. The distribution of HAp nanoparticles on the surface of emulsion droplets with different concentrations of CTAB (5 and 20 mM) was characterized using laser-induced confocal microscope. It revealed the distribution of HAp nanoparticles changed with different CTAB concentrations. The cured PLLA materials were obtained after the solvent being volatilized using as-received emulsions as templates. Scanning electron microscope images showed both microspheres and porous materials with interconnected pore structure were obtained. In conclusion, the microstructure of microspheres or porous PLLA materials is controllable by adjusting the property of HAp nanoparticles stabilized Pickering emulsions with appropriate amount of CTAB.

Pickering emulsions stabilized by some inorganic materials

The paper presents studies of various solid stabilizers of emulsions based on inorganic materials. Inorganic colloidal particles have an advantage for obtaining of stable emulsions due to their safety for use in food, cosmetics, pharmaceutical industry and medicine. Pickering emulsions have a higher biodegradability compared to classical emulsions stabilized with surfactants. An overview of inorganic substances such as silicon dioxide, clay materials, metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, calcium compounds and carbon particles used for stabilizing of Pickering emulsions is considered. A variety of solid inorganic particles as well as modification of their surfaces by surfactants allows to obtain the stable Pickering emulsions of different types for a wide range of applications. It should be noted that despite a large number of studies, this class of disperse systems is still not studied fully; various methods of their preparation and influence of solid particle size on stability and size of emulsions droplets are shown.

Unmodified Clay Nanosheets at the Air-Water Interface

Quasi-two-dimensional (2D) nanolayers, such as graphene oxide or clay layers, adhere to gas-liquid or liquid-liquid interfaces. Particularly, clays are of wide general interest in this context because of their extensive and crucial use as Pickering emulsion stabilizers, as well as for their ability to provide colloidosome capsules. So far, clays could only be localized at oil-water or air-saline-water interfaces in aggregated states, while our results now show that clay nanosheets without any modification can be located at air-deionized-water interfaces. The clay mineral used in the present work is synthetic fluorohectorite with a very high aspect ratio and superior quality in homogeneity and charge distribution compared to other clay minerals. This clay mineral is more suitable for achieving unmodified clay anchoring to fluid interfaces compared to other clay minerals used in previous works. In this context, we studied clay nanosheet organization at the air-water interface by combining different experimental methods: Langmuir-Blodgett trough studies, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies of film deposits, grazing-incidence X-ray off-specular scattering (GIXOS), and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). Clay films formed at the air-water interface could be transferred to solid substrates by the Langmuir-Schaefer method. The BAM results indicate a dynamic equilibrium between clay sheets on the interface and in the subphase. Because of this dynamic equilibrium, the Langmuir monolayer surface pressure does not change significantly when pure clay sheets are spread on the liquid surface. However, also, GIXOS results confirm that there are clay nanosheets at the air-water interface. In addition, we find that clay sheets modified by a branched polymer are much more likely to be confined to the interface.

Displacement of interfacially-bound monoglyceride crystals in water-in-oil emulsions by a non-ionic surfactant

HYPOTHESIS

Micron and nano-scale particles are increasingly used to stabilize water-in-oil (W/O) emulsions. Though remarkably stable, the resulting emulsions can be broken by adding low molecular weight surfactants that modify the wettability of the interfacially-adsorbed particles.

EXPERIMENTS

W/O emulsions were prepared using lipophilic crystals of the monoglyceride glycerol monostearate (GMS), followed by addition of sorbitan monooleate (SMO) at concentrations below and above its critical micelle concentration (CMC). Systematic measurements of interfacial tension and three-phase contact angles, as well as characterization of emulsion sedimentation and microstructure, were used to assess GMS crystal wettability and emulsion destabilization.

FINDINGS

GMS crystals formed shells around the dispersed droplets, resulting in emulsions stable against breakdown under quiescent conditions. With SMO concentrations added below CMC, emulsion stability was not significantly affected. At SMO concentrations above CMC, the integrity of the crystalline shell was markedly affected. Notably, the GMS crystals transitioned from preferential oil-wet to water-wet behavior, eventually leading to their diffusion into the droplets. Therefore, in-situ modification of particle wettability at the oil-water interface was responsible for emulsion breakdown. Findings from this study may provide a pathway for the design of particle-stabilized W/O emulsions with controllable breakdown properties for applications such as tailored release of aqueous bioactive compounds.

Influence of hydrophobicity distribution of particle mixtures on emulsion stabilization

Whilst emulsions stabilized by uniform particles are well established, the emulsification behavior of heterogeneous mixtures of particles with varying hydrophobicity is rarely examined. Consequently, the influence of the distribution of particle hydrophobicity on oil-water emulsion stabilization is poorly understood. In the present work, the wettability of the bitumen froth fine solids from Alberta oil sands was studied by film flotation and toluene-water emulsification tests, before and after a hydrothermal treatment at 300-420°C. This approach provided a series of populations of particles with different distributions of hydrophobicity. The initial fine particles in the bitumen froth had a critical surface tension ranging from 26 to 56mN/m, with a mean value of 39mN/m. Hydrothermal treatment at 300-420°C progressively shifted the hydrophobicity distribution of the fine particles, resulting in a lower mean critical surface tension and a narrower critical surface tension range. The emulsifying capacity of the fine particle mixtures, as indicated by the volume of the produced toluene-water emulsions, was unrelated to the mean critical surface tension. Instead, emulsification depended on the proportion of a specific sub-fraction of particles with a critical surface tension of 27-30mN/m. This sub-fraction of particles, with intermediate hydrophobicity, dominated the emulsification behavior of the particle mixtures.

Controlling the Rheology of Montmorillonite Stabilized Oil-in-Water Emulsions

The rheology of hexadecane-in-water emulsions stabilized by montmorillonite platelets was investigated. In these systems excess particles form a network in the continuous phase which strongly dictates their rheological behavior. The emulsions were modified by the addition of NaCl and Na₄P₂O₇ to the continuous phase at varying concentrations. Remarkably, changes of up to 3 orders of magnitude in elastic modulus and yield stress of the emulsions were achieved. The droplets retained long-term coalescence stability after the addition of NaCl or Na₄P₂O₇ and even after the removal of the continuous phase network. The latter finding shows that the droplets are primarily stabilized by the formation of a solid barrier at the interface. These emulsions are therefore highly versatile formulation materials with an exceptional degree of stability and tunability.

Recent Studies of Pickering Emulsions: Particles Make the Difference

In recent years, emulsions stabilized by micro- or nanoparticles (known as Pickering emulsions) have attracted much attention. Micro- or nanoparticles, as the main components of the emulsion, play a key role in the preparation and application of Pickering emulsions. The existence of particles at the interface between the oil and aqueous phases affects not only the preparation, but also the properties of Pickering emulsions, affording superior stability, low toxicity, and stimuli-responsiveness compared to classical emulsions stabilized by surfactants. These advantages of Pickering emulsions make them attractive, especially in biomedicine. In this review, the effects of the characteristics of micro- and nanoparticles on the preparation and properties of Pickering emulsions are introduced. In particular, the preparation methods of Pickering emulsions, especially uniform-sized emulsions, are listed. Uniform Pickering emulsions are convenient for both mechanistic research and applications. Furthermore, some biomedical applications of Pickering emulsions are discussed and the problems hindering their clinical application are identified.

Controlling Pickering Emulsion Destabilisation: A Route to Fabricating New Materials by Phase Inversion

The aim of this paper is to review the key findings about how particle-stabilised (or Pickering) emulsions respond to stress and break down. Over the last ten years, new insights have been gained into how particles attached to droplet (and bubble) surfaces alter the destabilisation mechanisms in emulsions. The conditions under which chemical demulsifiers displace, or detach, particles from the interface were established. Mass transfer between drops and the continuous phase was shown to disrupt the layers of particles attached to drop surfaces. The criteria for causing coalescence by applying physical stress (shear or compression) to Pickering emulsions were characterised. These findings are being used to design the structures of materials formed by breaking Pickering emulsions.