Research on the implementing conditions of inverse emulsion‐breath figure method

Abstract

The relationships between three steps of the inverse emulsion-breath figure (Ie-BF) method, including emulsion preparation, film casting and hydrophilic component loading, are explored by adjusting the experimental factors of the three implementing processes. For emulsion preparation step, the influence of the ultrasonification, the concentration of emulsifier and the addition of polymer on the size of the emulsion droplets are investigated. For film casting step, the influence of environmental humidity and several factors concerning the emulsion preparation on the porous structure of the resultant films are studied. It has been proved that high humidity is a necessity for obtaining surface pores, and multi-layered pores with disordered distribution can be formed in the bulk layer of the film when high water/oil ratio is used in making the emulsion.Bovine serum albumin is loaded into the emulsion water droplets, and by implementing the Ie-BF method under the condition of water/oil ratio being as low as 0.02 vol%, selective protein enrichment within the interior of the top-layer pores is still realized. It reflects the characteristics of "high efficiency, targeted assembly" in the step of hydrophilic component loading.