Pharmaceutical emulsions

1
 Lesson objectives
At the end of this session you will be able to:
 define emulsion dosage forms
 recognize pharmaceutical application of emulsions
 understand:
– theory of emulsification
– Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization
 identify types of emulsion
 recognize methods used to distinguish emulsions
 identify emulsion formulation components

2
 Introduction
An emulsion is a thermodynamically unstable system
consisting of two immiscible liquid phases, one of
which is dispersed as globules (the dispersed phase) in
the other liquid phase (the dispersion phase) and
stabilized by the presence of an emulsifying agent.

Dispersed phase diameter can be as small as 0.01 µm

and as large as 100 µm.

The dispersed phase is also called internal phase or

discontinuous phase and the dispersion medium is
also called external or continuous phase.
3
 Introduction
Emulsions with an oleaginous internal phase and an
aqueous external phase are oil-in-water (o/w)
emulsions
Emulsions with an aqueous internal phase and an
oleaginous external phase are termed water-in-oil (w/o)
emulsions

4
 Introduction

 Pharmaceutical emulsions can vary from liquids of

relatively low viscosity to semisolids of high
viscosity (e.g., creams).

 Liquid emulsions may be employed orally, topically

or parenterally based on their constituent and
route of adm.

5
Pharmaceutical applications of emulsions

Applications of emulsions include the following:

 For oral, topical and parenteral administration of
oils and oil soluble drugs, e.g., mineral oil
(laxative), valproic acid (anticonvulsant drug)
 To enhance palatability of oils when given orally
by masking both taste and oiliness (eg., O/W
emulsions, like Oil-soluble vitamins)
 To formulate oil soluble and water soluble drugs
together

6
Pharmaceutical applications of emulsions…

 To increase absorption of oils and oil-soluble drugs

(increase bioavailability of a drug).
example, griseofulvin (antifungal drug) suspended in oil in
an oil-in-water emulsion.
To provide slow release of drug from intramuscular
injection
 For administration of lipid nutrients intravenously
 Radiopaque emulsions have application as diagnostic
agents in x-ray examination.

7
 Theories of emulsification
 When two immiscible liquids are agitated together one of the
liquids is dispersed as small droplets in the other, the liquids
separate rapidly into two clearly defined layers.
 Because:
 Cohesive forces between the molecules of each separate liquid
is greater than adhesive force between the two liquids.
 When one liquid is broken into small particles   surface
area of the formed globules  surface free energy 
thermodynamic unstability  coalescence (merging together of
droplets)
To prevent coalescence or at least to reduce its rate to negligible
proportions, emulsifying agent is used.

8
 Theories of emulsification ...cont’d

Types of emulsifying agents

Surface –active
agents (HLB 3-6
and 8-16)

Emulsifying
agents
Finely divided
Hydrophilic
solid particles
polymers
(clays)
9
 Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization

Surface-active agents (surfactants)

 Adsorb at oil-water interface form monomolecular films
 reduce INTERFACIAL TENSION reduced coalescence
Hydrophilic polymers
Adsorb at oil-water interface form multimolecular film
reduced coalescence
Finely divided solid particles (clays)
 Adsorbed at oil-water interface  form particulate film
reduced coalescence

10
 Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization

 Surface-active agents (surfactants)

Adsorbed molecules or ions of the SAA  form a
monolayer   interfacial tension  surface free
energy  reduction of coalescence
Moreover, the droplets are surrounded by a
coherent monolayer  prevention of coalescence
between approaching droplets

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 Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization

Hydrophilic polymers
 Hydrophilic colloids ( e.g., acacia, gelatin) form
multimolecualr films around droplets of dispersed
oil.
However, do not cause an appreciable lowering in
surface tension.
 Their use has declined because of large number of
synthetic surface-active agents with well-marked
emulsifying properties.

12
 Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization...

 Hydrophilic polymers…….

Their efficacy depends on their ability to form

strong coherent multimolecular films  coating
around droplets resistant to coalescence

 Non-adsorbed hydrocolloids increase viscosity of

continuous aqueous phase  resistant to
coalescence

13
 Mechanisms of emulsion stabilization...

 Finely divided solid particles

 Finely divided solid that are wetted to some degree by both
oil and water can act as emulsifying agents.
 Concentrate at the interface  formation of particulate
film  prevention of coalescence

 Powders that are wetted preferentially by water form o/w

emulsions, whereas those more easily wetted by oil form w/o
emulsions.
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 Types of Emulsions
 Ordinary emulsions
 O/W emulsions
 W/O emulsions
 Multiple emulsions
 W/O/W emulsions: In which small water droplets are enclosed within
larger oil droplets, which are themselves then dispersed in water
 O/W/O emulsion: in which small oil droplets are enclosed within larger
water droplets, which are themselves then dispersed in oil.
 The most promising use of multiple emulsions is in the area of
sustained-release drug formulations.

15
 Types of Emulsions...........cont’d

Microemulsions (colloidal emulsions)

 are emulsions which contain droplet diameters between

1 nm and 0.5 µm.
 Unlike coarse emulsions, they are quite often transparent or
translucent, do not separate on standing and have narrow
droplet size distribution.
 Coarse emulsions tend to separate on standing, have broad
droplet size distribution and are generally opaque.

16
 Microemulsions (colloidal
emulsions)....cont’d
 Coarse emulsions contain three components, namely, oil,
water, and surfactant;

 Whereas microemulsions generally require a fourth

component, a cosurfactant.

 Microemulsions have been used to increase bioavailability of

poorly water soluble drugs.
 Both o/w and w/o types are possible, and one may convert to
the other by the addition of more internal phase or by altering
the type of emulsifier.

17
 Methods to distinguish o/w and w/o
emulsion types
Miscibility tests with oil or water
 The emulsion will only be miscible with liquids that are
miscible with its continuous phase.
Conductivity test
 Systems with aqueous continuous phases will readily
conduct electricity, whereas systems with oily continuous
phases will not.
Dye-solubility test
 Water soluble dye will dissolve in the aqueous phase of an
emulsion while an oil soluble dye will be taken up by the oil
phase.

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 Emulsion Formulation

 Choice of emulsion type

 Fats or oils for oral administration, either as medicaments in
their own right or as vehicles for oil-soluble drugs, are always
formulated as oil-in-water emulsions.
 Pleasant to take as the inclusion of flavours in the
aqueous phase mask unpleasant taste
 Emulsions for intravenous administration must also be
of the o/w type.
 Intramuscular injections can also be formulated as O/W or
W/O type.

19
 Choice of emulsion type……….…..cont’d
 Emulsions are most widely used for external
application;
 Semisolid emulsions and more fluid preparations
for massage into the skin, liniments
o/w emulsions do not have the greasy texture
and easily washed from skin surfaces.
w/o emulsions have greasy texture and difficult
to be washed off from skin surfaces.
Since w/o emulsions have a greasy texture they
have higher apparent viscosity than o/w
emulsions.
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 Choice of emulsion type……....cont’d

 W/O emulsions have an occlusive effect by

hydration of the upper layers of the stratum
corneum and inhibition of evaporation.
 They are useful for cleansing the skin from oil-
soluble dirty materials.

21
 Choice of emulsion type……....cont’d

Percentage volume of the dispersed phase:

 Most pharmaceutical emulsions contain a volume
ratio of 50 parts of oil and 50 parts of water.
 The percentage volume of the dispersed phase is
usually smaller.
 However, the dispersed phase can be as large as
74% of the total volume.

22
 Rheology of emulsion

Ideally emulsions should exhibit the rheological

properties of plasticity/pseudoplasticity and
thixotropy. Why?
A high apparent viscosity during storage and
low apparent viscosity when shaken, poured
from the container, spread on the surface of skin
or injected through a hypodermic needle.
The main disadvantage with low-viscosity
emulsions is their tendency to cream easily.

23
 Viscosity of the continuous phase
 can be increased by incorporation of syrup or glycerol
in O/W type.
 If oil is continuous phase, then inclusion of paraffin or
waxes will increase its viscosity.
 Disadvantage: increase density difference between the
two phases upon change in temp, and accelerate
creaming.
 Hydrocolloids also increase the continuous phase
viscosity.
 But, they do not have the disadvantage of altering the
density of this phase.
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 Viscosity of the continuous phase...

Concentration of the emulsifying system

  in the concentration of hydrophilic colloids in O/W
emulsions   in viscosity of the continuous phase
  in concentration of surface active agents  
flocculation of globules by forming linkages between
adjacent globules   apparent viscosity of the
continuous phase

25
 Choice of oil phase
 In many instances the oil phase of an emulsion is
the active agent.
 Example: Turpentine oil and benzyl benzoate
(antimicrobial activity) are formulated for external
applications.

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 Choice of emulsifying agent
Toxicity and irritancy considerations
 At emulsifying conc., ionic emulsifying agents
irritate GIT and have a laxative effect hence not
used in oral emulsions.
 Cationic surfactants are toxic even at lower
concentrations and limited to only external use.
 Anionic alkali soaps often have a high pH and are
thus unsuitable for broken skin  cause irritation.

27
 Choice of emulsifying agent…

 Thus, choice of emulgent depends not only on its

emulsifying ability, but also on route of
administration and its toxicity.
 Naturally occurring materials and their semisynthetic
derivatives are suitable for internally used
pharmaceutical emulsions.
 These include natural polymers, cellulose derivatives,
glycerol esters, sorbitan esters and polysorbates
 Most of these are non-ionic, less irritant and less
toxic than their anionic and cationic counterparts.
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 Choice of emulsifying agent…
 Only certain types of non-ionic emulgents are
suitable for parenteral use.
 These include lecithin, polysorbate 80,
methylcellulose, gelatin and serum albumin.

 Thus, selection of emulsifying agent is of prime

importance in successful formulation of emulsion.

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Classification of emulsifying agents

Emulsifying agents

Naturally occurring Synthetic emulsifying

materials and their agents
derivatives

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 Naturally occurring materials and their
derivatives
Polysaccharides
Acacia
 Acacia is a polysaccharide gum soluble in water.
 Acacia stabilizes o/w emulsions by forming a strong
multimolecular film round each oil globule.
 Because of its low viscosity, creaming will occur readily.
 Therefore a suspending agent such as tragacanth or sodium
alginate can also be included.
 Because of its sticky nature the use of acacia is limited to
products for internal use.
 It is necessary to preserve acacia emulsions against microbial
attack by use of suitable preservatives. 31
 Naturally occurring materials...

 Other polysaccharides include: tragacanth,

alginates, carrageenan, xanthan gum and pectin.
 These emulgents form hydrophilic colloids when
added to water and produce o/w emulsions.
 They have low surface activity and achieve
emulsifying power by forming multimolecular film
and by increasing the viscosity of aqueous phase.

32
 Naturally occurring materials…
Gelatin
 It is a protein which has been used for many years
as an emulsifying agent.
 It forms o/w type of emulsion.
 Lecithin
 Lecithin is an emulsifier obtained from both plant
( e.g., soya bean) and animal (e.g., egg yolk).
 It is composed of variety of phosphatides
 The primary component of most lecithins is
phosphatidylcholine .
 Purified lecithins obtained from soyabean and egg yolk
are the principal emulsifiers for intravenous fat
emulsions. 33
Phosphatidylcholine

34
 Finely divided solids (clays, minerals)

 include bentonite (hydrated aluminum silicate) and

veegum (magnesium aluminum silicate) and
colloidal silicon dioxide
 They adsorb at interface and form particulate film
and also increase the viscosity in aqueous phase.
 They are most frequently used for external
purposes such as lotion or cream.

35
 Cellulose derivatives
 include methylcellulose and carmellose sodium
(sodium carboxymethylcellulose)
 They form o/w type of emulsion.
 They are also called auxiliary emulsifying agents.
 Because they alone are not capable of forming stable
emulsions.
 Their main value lies in their ability to function as
thickening agents (suspending agents) and thereby
help stabilize the emulsion.

36
Cellulose derivatives ...cont’d

37
 Sterol-containing substances
 Sterol-containing substances such as Beeswax, wool fat and
wool alcohols are also used as emulsifying agents.
 Beeswax
 It is used mainly in cosmetic creams of both o/w and w/o
type in conjunction with borax.
 Beeswax alone is used as a stabilizer for w/o creams.
 Wool fat (anhydrous lanolin)
 Consists chiefly of normal fatty alcohols, fatty acid esters of
cholesterol, and other sterols.
 It forms w/o emulsions and it can also be incorporated for
its emollient properties.

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 Sterol-containing substances
Cholesterol

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 Wool fat
 Has high water absorbing properties
 But some individuals exhibit sensitization to Wool
fat.
 It is not widely used because of its characteristic
odour and the need to incorporate antioxidants.
 It can be used as an emulsion stabilizer with
primary emulsifying agents.

40
 Disadvantages of naturally occurring
materials and their derivatives
 Show batch-to-batch variation in composition and
hence in emulsifying properties,
 Susceptible to bacterial or mould growth
 Not suitable for products requiring a long
shelf-life

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 Synthetic surface active agents

Synthetic surface active

agents (surfactants)

Anionic Cationic Non ionic

surfactants surfactants surfactants

42
 Anionic surfactants
 Dissociate to form negatively charged anions that
are responsible for their emulsifying ability
 They are widely used because of their cheapness.
 Because of their toxicity only used for externally
applied preparations

Anionic surfactants

Alkali metal Sulfated and

Amine soaps
soaps Sulfonated cpds
43
 Alkali metal soaps
 Emulgents in this group consist mainly of the
sodium, potassium or ammonium salts of long-
chain fatty acids such as: Potassium laurate
(C11H23COO-K+ ), Sodium stearate( C17H35COO- Na+ )
 They produce stable O/W emulsions,
 But in some instances require an auxiliary nonionic
emulsifying agent.
 At pH < 10 precipitate out from solution
 formation of unionized free fatty acid of low
aqueous solubility  precipitation
44
 Alkali metal soaps ...cont’d
 Ca, Mg, and Al salts of fatty acids, are slightly
water soluble and result in w/o emulsions.
e.g., calcium stearate

 Soaps of alkali metal are incompatible with

polyvalent cations, often causing phase reversal.
 They have also a disagreeable taste and are
irritating to GI tract,
 This limits them for emulsions prepared for
external use.

45
 Amine soaps
 A number of amines form salts with fatty acids.
 The most important of those used is based on
triethanolamine N(CH2CH2OH)3 .
 It is widely used in both pharmaceutical and cosmetic
products.
 These emulsifiers favor formation of o/w emulsions.
 Their alkalinity is considerably lower than that of
alkali soaps.
 They are also less irritating than alkali soaps.
 They are also incompatible with acids and high
concentrations of salts.
 Their use is limited to external applications.
46
 Alkyl sulfates
 The alkyl sulfates have the general formula ROSO3M+,
where R represents a hydrocarbon chain and M+ is
usually sodium or triethanolamine.
 An example is sodium lauryl sulphate, which is
widely used to produce o/w emulsions.
 Sodium lauryl sulphate has high water solubility.
 Because of its high water solubility and inability to
form condensed films, used in conjunction with a
non-ionic oil-soluble emulsifying agent.

47
 Sulfonates
 Sulfonates are a class of compounds in which the
sulfur atom is connected directly to the carbon atom
giving the general formula: RSO3 M+
 They are much less widely used as emulgents.
 Materials of this class include sodium
dioctylsulphosuccinate, and are more often used for
their detergency.

Sodium dioctylsulphosuccinate
48
 Cationic surfactants
 The surface activity in the cationic group resides in
the positively charged ion.
 The pH of an emulsion prepared with a cationic
emulsion lies in the pH 4 to 6 ranges.
 Because this includes the normal pH of skin, they are
used in anti-infective products such as lotions and
creams.

49
 Cationic surfactants...
 Because of toxicity of cationic surfactants they tend
to be used only for formulation of antiseptic cream.
 They alone produce poor emulsions but if used with
non-ionic oil-soluble auxiliary emulgents such as
cetostearyl alcohol they will form stable emulsions.
 The most important group of cationic emulgents
consists of the quaternary ammonium compounds.
 An example is cetyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide
(cetrimide) CH3 (CH2)14 CH2N+(CH3)3Br-.
 Cationic emulsifiers should not be used with anionic
emulsifiers.
50
 Nonionic surfactants

 Nonionics, undissociated surfactants, find wide

spread use as emulsifying agents.

 These emulsifiers range from oil-soluble compounds

stabilizing w/o emulsions to water-soluble materials
giving o/w products.

51
 Nonionic surfactants…
Advantages of non-ionic surfactants

 They show low toxicity and irritancy (some of

them can be used for orally and parenterally
administered preparations).
have a greater degree of compatibility with other
materials
less sensitive to changes in pH or to the addition of
electrolytes

52
 Nonionic surfactants…
Most non-ionic surfactants are based upon:
 A fatty acid or alcohol (usually with 12-18 carbon
atoms), the hydrocarbon chain of which provides
the hydrophobic moiety.
 An alcohol (-OH) and/or ethylene oxide groups
(-OCH2CH2-), provide hydrophilic part of the molecule.
 By varying the relative proportions of the
hydrophilic and hydrophobic groupings many
different products can be obtained.

53
 Nonionic surfactants…
Hydrophobic parts tend to migrate into the oil phase.

Hydrophilic tends to migrate into the aqueous phase.

The best type of non-ionic surfactant to use is one

with an equal balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic
group parts.

An alternative would be to use two emulgents, one

hydrophilic and one hydrophobic.

54
 Glycerol esters
 For example, Glyceryl monostearate (an ester of
glycerol and stearic acid ) C17H35COOCH2CHOHCH2OH

 Glyceryl monostearate is a strongly hydrophobic

material that produces weak w/o emulsions.
 The addition of small salts of oleic or stearic acids will
produce a 'self-emulsifying' glyceryl monostearate,
which is a useful o/w emulsifier.

55
 Sorbitan esters (Spans®)
These are produced by the esterification of one or
more of the hydroxyl groups of sorbitan with either
lauric acid (C11H23COOH), oleic acid (C17H33COOH),
palmitic acid (C15H31COOH) or stearic acid
(C17H35COOH)

Structure of sorbitan Sorbitan monostearate

 Sorbitan esters stabilize W/O emulsions 56
 Polysorbates(Tweens®)

 Polysorbates are esters of polyoxyethylene

sorbitan and fatty acids.

57
 Polysorbates(Tweens®)...
 Polyoxyethylene 20 sorbitan monooleate, for
example, contains 20 oxyethylene groups in the
molecule.
 Polysorbates are generally used in combination with
the corresponding sorbitan ester to form a complex
condensed film at the oil/water interface.
 Glyceryl monostearate, cetyl or stearyl alcohol or
propylene glycol monostearate, can be incorporated
with polysorbates to produce 'self-emulsifying‘
preparations.

58
 Higher fatty alcohols
 The hexadecyl (cetyl) and octadecyl (stearyl)
members of this series of saturated aliphatic
monohydric alcohols are useful auxiliary emulsifying
agents.
 Part of their stabilizing effect comes from their
ability to increase the viscosity of the preparation,
thereby retarding creaming.
 Cetyl and stearyl alcohol form complex interfacial
films with hydrophilic surface-active agents such as
sodium lauryl sulphate, and cetrimide to stabilize
o/w emulsions.
59
Stabilization of emulsion by the HLB method

 A blend of oil-soluble and water-soluble emulsifying

agents produces the most satisfactory emulsions.
 HLB method is used to determine the quantities of
emulgents necessary to produce the most physically
stable emulsion for a particular oil-water emulsions.
 Each surfactant has an HLB number representing the
relative proportions of the lipophilic and hydrophilic
parts of the molecule.
 Higher HLB number indicates high hydrophilicity
whereas low HLB indicates high lipophilicity.
60
 Required HLB value
 The required HLB value differs depending on whether
the final emulsion is O/W or W/O type.
 This does not necessarily mean that every surfactant
having the required HLB value will produce a good
emulsion.
 Because specific surfactants may interact with
another component of the emulsion, or even with
each other.
 Mixtures of surface-active agents give more stable
emulsions than when used singly.

61
 Required HLB value…
 Mixture of emulsifiers may
 Produce densely packed complex film at oil-water
interface
 Increase viscosity of the interfacial emulsifier film
which inhibit thinning at the points of droplet to
droplet contact
 Provide more elastic interfacial film which resist
rupture upon collision of emulsion droplets.
 The HLB of a mixture of surfactants, consisting of
fraction A (x ) and fraction of B (1 - x), is assumed to
be an algebraic mean of the two HLB numbers:
HLBmix = x HLBA + (1-x) HLB B 62
 Preparation of emulsions
 The preparation of emulsion requires to reduce the
internal phase into small droplets and disperse them
throughout the external phase.
 This can be accomplished by mortar and pestle at
small scale or high-speed homogenizer at large scale.

63
Preparation of emulsions......cont’d

High-speed homogenizer 64
 Preparation of emulsions………..cont’d

Emulsions are prepared by four principal methods:

 Addition of internal phase to external phase
 Addition of external phase to internal phase (the
dry gum technique )
 Mixing both phases after heating
 Alternate addition of the two phases to the
emulsifying agent

65
 Preparation of emulsions...cont’d
Addition of internal phase to external phase

 The most satisfactory method for preparing

emulsions,
 Water soluble ingredients are dissolved in water,
and oil soluble ingredients are dissolved in oil.
 If the external phase is water, the oil phase is then
gradually added to water phase and then stirred
gently.

66
 Preparation of emulsions...cont’d
Addition of external phase to internal phase (the dry
gum technique ) (4:2:1 method)
 4 parts of oil: 2 parts of water: 1 part of surfactant is
used.
 In this method, O/W emulsifier (e.g acacia) is
triturated with the oil in dry mortar.
 After the oil and emulsifier have been mixed, water is
added all at once, and the mixture is triturated
immediately.
 Other ingredients that are soluble in or miscible with
the external phase may then be mixed into the
primary emulsion. 67
 Preparation of emulsions...cont’d
 Solid substances such as preservatives, stabilizers,
colorants, and any flavor are usually dissolved in a
suitable volume of water (assuming water is external
phase) and added as a solution to the primary
emulsion and mixed.
Mixing both phases after heating
 This method is used when waxes or other substances
that require melting are used.
 The oil-soluble emulsifying agents (oils and waxes) are
melted and mixed thoroughly.
 The water-soluble ingredients dissolved in water are
warmed to a temperature slightly higher than the oil
68
phase.
Mixing both phases after heating.... cont’d

 The two phases are then gradually mixed and stirred

until cold.
 For convenience, the aqueous solution is added to the
oil mixture.
 This method is frequently used in the preparation of
ointments and creams.

69
 Preparation of emulsions...cont’d
Alternate addition of the two phases to the
emulsifying agent

 Oil-soluble emulsifying agents are added to a

portion of oil and mixed.
 Then equal quantity of water containing water-
soluble emulsifying agents are added to the oil
phase and stirred until the emulsion is formed.
 Further portions of the oil and water are added
alternatively until the final product is formed.

70
 Preparation of emulsions...cont’d
 Factors which affect the type of emulsion formed:
a. Volume of internal and external phases.
 The smaller volume will be the internal phase and the
larger volume will be external phase.
 In some cases, internal phases can be more than 50% of the
total volume.
b. Nature of the emulsifying agents
 Dominance of polar part of emulsifying agents results in
formation of o/w emulsion.
 Dominance of non-polar part results in formation of w/o
emulsion.
 Note that polar groups are better barriers than non-polar
groups; therefore, o/w emulsion can be prepared with
more than 50 % of oil phase as an “ internal phase”. 71
 Physical instability of emulsions

 The most important consideration with respect to

pharmaceutical and cosmetic emulsions is the
stability of the finished product.
 Physical instability of pharmaceutical emulsion may
be classified as follows:
 Creaming and sedimentation
 Flocculation, coalescence and breaking
 Phase inversion

72
Physical instability of emulsions..cont’d

73
 Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d
Creaming
 Is the upward movement of dispersed droplets
relative to the dispersion medium.
 A creamed emulsion is inelegant in appearance,
provides the possibility of inaccurate dosage, and
increases the likelihood of coalescence as the
globules are close together in the cream.
 Sedimentation
 Sedimentation is the downward movement of
dispersed droplets relative to the continuous phase.
74
 Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d
 Factors that influence the rate of sedimentation are
similar to those involved in the sedimentation rate of
particles in suspension formulations.

(Stoke’s equation)

 Sedimentation can be decreased by:

a. Reduction in the globule size
b. Decrease in density difference between the two phases
c. An increase in the viscosity of the continuous phase

75
 Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d

Coalescence
 Coalescence is the fusion of droplets.
 Depends on the structural properties of the
interfacial film.
 It decreases the number of droplets and ultimately
leads to separation of the two immiscible
phases breaking (cracking)

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 Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d

 Flocculation (aggregation)
 In flocculation, the dispersed globules come together
but do not fuse.
 Caused by alteration of electrical potential and van
der Waals forces on droplets.

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Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d
 Breaking( cracking)
 Separation of an emulsion into its constituent
phases is termed cracking or breaking .
 It is an irreversible process.
 When breaking occurs, simple mixing fail to
resuspend the globules in a stable emulsified form.
 Because the film surrounding the particles has
been destroyed.
 It follows that any agent that will destroy the
interfacial film will break (crack) the emulsion.
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Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d
 Factors that cause an emulsion to break/crack:
The addition of a chemical that is incompatible
with the emulsifying agent
Bacterial growth
Temperature change

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Physical instability of emulsions...cont’d
Phase inversion
 Phase inversion is the process in which an emulsion
changes from one type to another, say O/W to W/O or vice
versa
 The higher the fraction of one phase, the greater likelihood
it will form the external phase.
 Factors which contribute phase inversion:
 excess amount of internal phase

 change in the type of emulgent

 Heating (e.g., polysorbates) temperature
dependent change on the solubility of the emulsifier

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END!!!

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