Pharmaceutics 1

Lecture 8
COLLOIDS

Prof. Sayed Abdel-Rahman

 Electrical Properties of Colloids
Electrical Double Layer and Zeta Potential

Schematic of double layer in a liquid at contact

with a negatively-charged solid.
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• A double layer (DL, also called an electrical
double layer, EDL) is a structure that appears on
the surface of an object when it is exposed to a
fluid.
• The DL refers to two parallel layers of charge
surrounding the object
• The first layer, the surface charge (either positive
or negative), comprises ions adsorbed onto the
object. The second layer is composed of ions
attracted to the surface charge via the coulomb
force,

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• This second layer is loosely associated with the
object. It is made of free ions that move in the
fluid under the influence of electric attraction and
thermal motion rather than being firmly
anchored. It is thus called the "diffuse layer".
• DLs play a fundamental role in many everyday
substances. For instance, homogenized milk
exists only because fat droplets are covered with
a DL that prevents their coagulation into butter

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 Zeta potential
• zeta potential, donated by the Greek letter zeta
(ζ), is the potential difference between the
dispersion medium and the stationary layer of
fluid attached to the dispersed particle.
• The zeta potential is a key indicator of the
stability of colloidal dispersions
• The magnitude of the zeta potential indicates the
degree of electrostatic repulsion between
adjacent, similarly charged particles in a
dispersion
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• When the potential is small, attractive forces
may exceed this repulsion and the dispersion
may break and flocculate. So, colloids with
high zeta potential (negative or positive) are
electrically stabilized while colloids with low
zeta potentials tend to coagulate or flocculate
as outlined in the table

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 Diagram showing the ionic concentration and potential
difference as a function of distance from the charged surface of a
particle suspended in a dispersion medium

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 Stability of Colloid Systems
Stability is accomplished essentially by two means:
i) providing the dispersed particles with an
electric charge and
ii)surrounding each particle with a protective
solvent sheath which prevents mutual
adherence when the particles collide as a result
of Brownian movement. This second effect is
significant only in the case of lyophilic sol.

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• A lyophobic sol is thermodynamically unstable. The
particles in such sols are stabilized only by the
presence of electrical charges on their surfaces.
• The like charges produce a repulsion which prevents
coagulation of the particles. If the last traces of ions
are removed from the system by dialysis, the particles
can agglomerate and reduce the total surface area; and
owing to their increased size, they may settle rapidly.
• Hence, addition of a small amount of electrolyte to a
lyophobic sol tends to stabilize the system by
imparting a charge to the particles.

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 Coacervation
• When negatively and positively charged
hydrophilic colloids are mixed, the particles
may separate from the dispersion to form a
layer rich in the colloidal aggregates. The
colloid-rich layer is known as coacervate, and
the phenomenon in which macromolecular
solutions separate into two liquid layers is
referred to as coacervation.

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• As an example, consider the mixing of gelatin and
acacia. Gelatin at a pH below 4.7 (its isoelectric point)
is positively charged; acacia carries a negative charge.
• When solution of these colloids are mixed in a certain
proportion, coacervation results. The viscosity of the
upper layer, now poor in colloid, is markedly decreased
below that of the coacervate, and in pharmacy this is
considered to represent a physical incompatibility.
• The coacervation of gelatin may also be brought about
by the addition of alcohol, sodium sulfate or a
macromolecular substance as starch.

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Sensitization and Protective Colloidal
Action
• The addition of a small amount of hydrophilic or
hydrophobic colloid to a hydrophobic colloid of
opposite charge tends to sensitize or even coagulate
the particles.
• This is considered as due to reduction of zeta potential
leading to decrease in repulsion between the particles.
• The addition of large amount of the hydrophilic colloid,
however, stabilize the system, the hydrophile possibly
being adsorbed as a monomolecular layer on the
hydrophobic particles. This phenomenon is known as
protection, and the added hydrophilic sol is known as a
protective colloid.

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