Structurally Stable Attractive Nanoscale Emulsions with Dipole–Dipole Interaction‐Driven Interdrop Percolation

This study introduces an extremely stable attractive nanoscale emulsion fluid, in which the amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) (PEO‐b‐PCL), is tightly packed with lecithin, thereby forming a mechanically robust thin‐film at the oil‐water interface. The molec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry : a European journal 2017-03, Vol.23 (18), p.4292-4297
Main Authors: Shin, Kyounghee, Gong, Gyeonghyeon, Cuadrado, Jonas, Jeon, Serim, Seo, Mintae, Choi, Hong Sung, Hwang, Jae Sung, Lee, Youngbok, Fernandez‐Nieves, Alberto, Kim, Jin Woong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attraction
attractive nanoemulsions
block copolymers
Chemistry
Copolymers
drop-percolated emulsion
drug delivery
Emulsions
Fluids
Lecithin
Nanostructure
Networks
Rheological properties
Thin films
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Summary:This study introduces an extremely stable attractive nanoscale emulsion fluid, in which the amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(ϵ‐caprolactone) (PEO‐b‐PCL), is tightly packed with lecithin, thereby forming a mechanically robust thin‐film at the oil‐water interface. The molecular association of PEO‐b‐PCL with lecithin is critical for formation of a tighter and denser molecular assembly at the interface, which is systematically confirmed by T2 relaxation and DSC analyses. Moreover, suspension rheology studies also reflect the interdroplet attractions over a wide volume fraction range of the dispersed oil phase; this results in a percolated network of stable drops that exhibit no signs of coalescence or phase separation. This unique rheological behavior is attributed to the dipolar interaction between the phosphorylcholine groups of lecithin and the methoxy end groups of PEO‐b‐PCL. Finally, the nanoemulsion system significantly enhances transdermal delivery efficiency due to its favorable attraction to the skin, as well as high diffusivity of the nanoscale emulsion drops. Attractive nanoemulsions: Extremely stable attractive nanoemulsion fluids are fabricated by engineering a resilient PEO‐b‐PCL/lecithin thin‐film at the interface. Dipole–dipole attraction between drops leads to formation of a drop‐percolated emulsion network, thus exhibiting a gel‐like rheological behavior as well as excellent transdermal delivery performance.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.201604722