Nano-emulsions defined

It may seem that due to the different mechanisms and factors influencing the stability of nanoemulsions it is not possible to know a priori which will be the behavior of a defined system. However, the growing knowledge about a great variety of systems and a wise use of this knowledge would allow the formulation of nano-emulsions with enough stability for the applications intended. 

Nano-emulsions are defined as a class of emulsions with uniform and extremely small droplet size (typically in the range 20-500 nm). The formation of kinetically stable liquid/hquid dispersions of such small sizes is of great interest from fundamental and applied viewpoints. In this review, nanoemulsion formation, with special emphasis on low-energy emulsification methods, is first discussed. This is followed by a description of nano-emulsion properties, focusing on their kinetic stability. Finally, relevant industrial applications of nano-emulsions in the preparation of latex particles, in personal-care formulations, and as drug dehvery systems are reported. 

Maa and Hsu (75) reported the formation of nano-particles by the double-emulsion method (W/OAV), using methylene chloride as an organic solvent and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) or human serum albumin (HSA) as a surfactant. Experimental parameters such as the preparation temperature, the solvent-evaporation method, the internal aqueous phase volume, the surfactant concentration, and the polymer molecular weight were investigated for particle size, the zeta potential, the residual surfactant percentage, and the poly-dispersity index. Preparation parameters leading to particles with well-defined characteristics such as an average size around 200 nm and a polydispersity index lower than 0.1 were identified. 

Polyoxometalates (POMs) are transition metal oxygen clusters with well-defined atomic coordination structures. POMs are used as functional nano-colloidal materials and also as supports for catalysts via ion-pair interactions due to their acidic properties. Combinations of chiral diamines and POM 225 effectively catalyze enamine-based aldol reactions. Less than 1 mol% of chiral amine loading is suf-ficientto catalyze the reaction (Table 28.10, entries 1 and 2) [114]. Highly diastereo-and enantioselective cross-aldol reactions of aldehydes are accomplished using chiral diamine-POM 226 under emulsion conditions (entries 3 and 4) [115]. Sul-fonated polystyrene or fluoropolymer Nafion NR50 are also good supports for the immobilization of primary-tertiary diamines. The catalyst 227 can be recovered by filtration and reused for at least four cycles with no loss of stereoselectivity (entries 5 and 6) [116]. 

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