Recent advances in multiple emulsions and their application as templates

Silva, Bruno F. B.; Rodríguez‐Abreu, Carlos; Vilanova, Neus

doi:10.1016/j.cocis.2016.07.006

Cited by 72 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 111 publications

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“…[33][34][35][36][37] While microcapillary-based methods offer precise control over droplet sizes and distribution, they have low throughput (typically less than 1 mL/hr for a single device 38 ), and device limitations make nanoscale droplet production infeasible without significant technological advances. On the other hand, bulk emulsification has been used to successfully form nanoscale multiple emulsions, but is significantly more difficult to control, typically resulting in a large dispersity of both size and morphology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More innovative approaches such as one-step preparation of multiple emulsions using amphiphilic block copolymers or induced by phase separation have improved controllability in both droplet size and morphology; however, scaling them down to the nanoscale remains challenging. 38 Here, we choose a two-step, high-energy bulk emulsification method. The method is inherently scalable due to the availability of industrial high-energy emulsification equipment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Synthesis of Oil-Laden Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Hydrogel Nanocapsules from Double Nanoemulsions

et al. 2017

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Multiple emulsions have received great interest due to their ability to be used as templates for the production of multi-compartment particles for a variety of applications.However, scaling these complex droplets to nanoscale dimensions has been a challenge due to limitations on their fabrication methods. Here, we report the development of oil-in-water-in-oil (O1/W/O2) double nanoemulsions via a two-step high-energy method, and their use as templates for complex nanogels comprised of inner oil droplets encapsulated within a hydrogel matrix.Using a combination of characterization methods, we determine how the properties of the nanogels are controlled by the size, stability, internal morphology, and chemical composition of the nanoemulsion templates from which they are formed. This allows for identification of 2 compositional and emulsification parameters that can be used to optimize the size and oil encapsulation efficiency of the nanogels. Our templating method produces oil-laden nanogels with high oil encapsulation efficiencies and average diameters of 200-300 nm. In addition, we demonstrate the versatility of the system by varying the types of inner oil, the hydrogel chemistry, the amount of inner oil, and the hydrogel network crosslink density. These non-toxic oil-laden nanogels have potential applications in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic formulations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of Oil-Laden Poly(ethylene glycol) Diacrylate Hydrogel Nanocapsules from Double Nanoemulsions

et al. 2017

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“…Another possibility to separate two miscible fluids is to enclose the first fluid in another immiscible fluid that is dispersed in a third fluid, resulting in double emulsions. Indeed, double emulsions are frequently employed to store and deliver reagents, as picoliter‐sized reaction vessels to conduct chemical and biochemical reactions, or as templates to produce microcapsules . Certain surfactant‐stabilized double emulsions are permeable toward hydrophilic encapsulants, even though their solubility in the oil phase is very low .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, thus far, surfactants have never been employed to selectively transport reagents across shells. Instead, double emulsions are frequently used as templates to produce microcapsules that can optionally be rendered responsive to external stimuli such as pH, temperature, or enzymes . However, when the release of reagents is triggered, most of these microcapsules decompose or become irreversibly defective.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selectively Permeable Double Emulsions

Ong

Amstad

2019

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Natural organisms are made of different types of microcompartments, many of which are enclosed by cell membranes. For these organisms to display a proper function, the microcompartments must be selectively permeable. For example, cell membranes are typically permeable toward small, uncharged molecules such as water, selected nutrients, and cell signaling molecules, but impermeable toward many larger biomolecules. Here, it is reported for the first time dynamic compartments, namely surfactant‐stabilized double emulsions, that display selective and tunable permeability. Selective permeability is imparted to double emulsions by stabilizing them with catechol‐functionalized surfactants that transport molecules across the oil shell of double emulsions only if they electrostatically or hydrophobically attract encapsulants. These double emulsions are employed as semipermeable picoliter‐sized vessels to controllably perform complexation reactions inside picoliter‐sized aqueous cores. This thus far unmet level of control over the transport of reagents across oil phases opens up new possibilities to use double emulsion drops as dynamic and selectively permeable microcompartments to initiate and maintain chemical and biochemical reactions in picoliter‐sized cell‐mimetic compartments.

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“…Nevertheless, PDMS remains the most widely used material in microfluidics owing to its flexibility and transparency in UV-Visible spectrum range. This material is hydrophobic by nature and the way to render it hydrophilic in long term is challenging, as the elastomeric property of the PDMS induces its surface recovery, hence, its hydrophobicity [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%