Abstract
Micron-scale monodisperse oil-in-water (O/W) micropheres (MS) were prepared using a novel microchannel (MC) emulsification technique. The characteristics of the MS preparation and the O/W-MS prepared were studied. Soybean oil and medium-chain triacyglycerol (MCT) were used as the disprrsed phase, and physiological saline was used as the continuous phase. Silicon MC with 1 to 3μm-equivalent channel diameters were employed. A novel MC module was devised to easily recover the O/W-MS prepared. The effects of the channel shape on the behavior of MS formation, on the MS size, and on the distribution were investigated. An MC with a terrace at the MC outlet stably yielded micron-scale monodisperse O/W-MS; the MS had diameters of about 5 μm, and their coefficients of variation were below 9%. Monodisperse food-grade O/W-MS with diameters of about 4 μm could be obtained by using polyglycerol fatty acid ester as the surfactant. The size and size distribution of the recovered O/W-MS remained almost constant over 60 d, demonstrating their long-term stability.
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Kobayashi, I., Nakajima, M., Nabetani, H. et al. Preparation of micron-scale monodisperse oil-in-water microspheres by microchannel emulsification. J Amer Oil Chem Soc 78, 797–802 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-001-0345-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11746-001-0345-5