A responsive particle coating for emulsion formation at the oil-water interface.

摘要

Emulsions were prepared using lipid-coated silica nanoparticles as a stabilizer, and the effects of type of lipid coating, lipid tail structure, type of oil, and concentration of lipid-coated silica nanoparticle on the stability, morphology and size of these emulsions were investigated. Three different methods for coating silica nanoparticles were used, resulting in three different particle types: partial bilayer/monolayer-coated silica particles (PBC SNPs), bilayer-coated silica particles (BC SNPs), and monolayer-coated silica particles (MC SNPs), which were evaluated for their efficacy in dispersing different types of oil. Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and dioleoylphosphatidylcholine (DOPC) were used as lipid coatings to examine the effect of lipid tail structure on particulate dispersant performance. It was observed that PBC SNPs foster emulsions that mirror the characteristics of emulsions stabilized by liposomes, and cause an inverse of the phase behavior of emulsions stabilized by silica only. When concentrations of DOPC and DPPC are adjusted such that no free vesicles are present, both characteristics of the emulsions stabilized by silica and characteristics of the emulsions stabilized by vesicles only are observed.