Oil-in-Water-in-Oil Multinanoemulsions for Templating Complex Nanoparticles
High encapsulation efficiency and droplet stabilityStabilization of drugs/chemicalsScalable on the nano levelSimultaneous encapsulation/stabilization of polar and nonpolar drugs/chemicals
Consumer productsCosmeticsAgriculturePharmaceuticals Paints and coatingsNanoparticle synthesis Drug delivery/medicineFood products
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara have developed a process of creating multinanoemulsions using sequential high-energy emulsification. This oil-in-water-in-oil (01/W/02) method is made from dispersing a single nanoemulsion (01/W) into an outer oil phase (02) using high-energy emulsification. It can be used in both organic and nonorganic (glass, silica, etc.) materials. Emulsion can be the final product or it can be used in the making of particles. For example, one can put water droplets in the fat oil of salad dressing to dilute the fatty oil and create a healthier low-fat dressing. This emulsion process can also be used to create nano-sized particles making them applicable to the pharmaceutical (drug delivery) and agriculture (distributing pesticides) industries. Additionally, the emulsion process can be used to release an encapsulated ingredient or particle. The release rate of particles can be controlled by adjusting the size and number of inner droplets. Furthermore, this process allows for the stabilization and separation of drugs or chemicals that share the same space. This method can be used on countless materials opening it up to a broad set of applications.
Background In recent years there has been growing interest in the engineering of multi-emulsions. While many techniques currently exist to create emulsions, they do so on a large scale and therefore are limited in many ways. For example, they have to be made one at a time and are done at a very slow rate of about one millimeter per hour. Additionally, the pressures in these current devices limit them from being scaled down to the nanoscale. The ability to create nanoscale particles holds great promise in fields such as pharmaceuticals, food, agriculture, and consumer products. Additional Technologies by these Inventors Tech ID/UC Case 27416/2017-473-0 Related Cases 2017-473-0
USA
