O/W nano-emulsion formation using an isothermal low-energy emulsification method in a mixture of polyglycerol polyricinoleate and hexaglycerol monolaurate with glycerol system.

We investigated how phase behavior changes by replacing water with glycerol in water/mixture of polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) and hexaglycerol monolaurate (HGML) /vegetable oil system, and studied the effect of glycerol on o/w nano-emulsion formation using an isothermal low-energy method. In the phase behavior study, the liquid crystalline phase (Lc) + the sponge phase (L3) expanded toward lower surfactant concentration when water was replaced with glycerol in a system containing surfactant HLP (a mixture of PGPR and HGML). O/W nano-emulsions were formed by emulsification of samples in a region of Lc + L3. In the glycerol/surfactant HLP/vegetable oil system, replacing water with glycerol was responsible for the expansion of a region containing Lc + L3 toward lower surfactant concentration, and as a result, in the glycerol/surfactant HLP/vegetable oil system, the region where o/w nano-emulsions or o/w emulsions could be prepared using an isothermal low-energy emulsification method was wide, and the droplet diameter of the prepared o/w emulsions was also smaller than that in the water/surfactant HLP/vegetable oil system. Therefore, glycerol was confirmed to facilitate the preparation of nano-emulsions from a system of surfactant HLP. Moreover, in this study, we could prepare o/w nano-emulsions with a simple one-step addition of water at room temperature without using a stirrer. Thus, the present technique is highly valuable for applications in several industries.