Advances in fabrication of emulsions with enhanced functionality using structural design principles

Emulsion science and technology has been used for many years to create a diverse range of commercial products, including pharmaceuticals, foods, agrochemicals, lubricants, personal care products, and cosmetics. The majority of these products are conventional emulsions consisting of droplets of one liquid dispersed in another immiscible liquid, e.g., oil-in-water emulsions. Recently, there has been growing interest in extending the functional performance of emulsion-based products using structural design principles. This article reviews recent developments in the creation of structured emulsions, including multiple emulsions, multilayer emulsions, colloidosomes, microclusters, filled hydrogel microspheres, and hybrid systems. The structure, fabrication, properties, and potential applications of each type of structured emulsion are discussed. In addition, recent advances in the fabrication of emulsion droplets with specific properties (size, charge, interfacial properties, and physical state) are also reviewed, since these are the basic building blocks of structured emulsions.

Graphical abstractExamples of structured emulsions that can be created by structural design principles using emulsion droplets as a building block.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (249 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Structural design principles can be used to improve the functionality of emulsions. ► A variety of structured emulsions have been developed based on layering, embedding and clustering. ► Examples include multiple emulsions, multilayer emulsions, colloidosomes, microclusters and filled hydrogel microspheres. ► The structure, properties, and applications of structured emulsions are reviewed.