A new method for the formulation of double nanoemulsions. Issue 8 (1st February 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ding, Shukai; Anton, Nicolas; Akram, Salman; Er-Rafik, Meriem; Anton, Halina; Klymchenko, Andrey; Yu, Wei; Vandamme, Thierry F.; Serra, Christophe A.
• Is Part Of: Soft matter. Volume 13:Issue 8(2017)
• Page Start: 1660
• Page End: 1669
• Publication Date: 2017-02-01
• Subjects: Soft condensed matter -- Periodicals; 530.413
• DOI: 10.1039/c6sm02603f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-683X

Abstract

Abstract : Double emulsions are very attractive systems for many reasons; the most important of these are their capacity to encapsulate hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules simultaneously in a single particle and their potentiality to protect fragile hydrophilic molecules from the continuous phase. Abstract : Double emulsions are very attractive systems for many reasons; the most important of these are their capacity to encapsulate hydrophilic and lipophilic molecules simultaneously in a single particle and their potentiality to protect fragile hydrophilic molecules from the continuous phase. Double emulsions represent a technology that is widely present down to the micrometer scale; however, double nanoemulsions, with their new potential applications as nanomedicines or diagnosis agents, currently present a significant challenge. In this study, we propose an original two-step approach for the fabrication of double nanoemulsions with a final size below 200 nm. The process consists of the formulation of a primary water-in-oil (w1 /O) nanoemulsion by high-pressure homogenization, followed by the re-emulsification of this primary emulsion by a low-energy method to preserve the double nanostructure. Various characterization techniques were undertaken to confirm the double structure and to evaluate the encapsulation efficiency of a small hydrophilic probe in the inner aqueous droplets. Complementary fluorescence confocal and cryo-TEM microscopy experiments were conducted to characterize and confirm the double structure of the double nanoemulsion.