Block copolymers of the type poly(caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene oxide) for the preparation and stabilization of nanoemulsions.
Block copolymers poly(caprolactone)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) are promising non-ionic macromolecular surfactants for the stabilization of emulsions because they display a stronger adsorption and provide an increased long-term stability. But such amphiphilic copolymers should also allow the fabrication of the suspensions according to the emulsification process used. An evaluation of such block copolymers was done regarding the nanoprecipitation and the miniemulsion polymerization processes that both afford aqueous suspensions of nanoparticles. Both the fabrication and the long-term stability were investigated. It was found that the emulsification by means of the nanoprecipitation process was successful when the amphiphilic block copolymer was added into the organic phase. The studies on the structure-activity relationships have shown that a minimum length of the poly(ethylene oxide) block was necessary in order to ensure both the long-term colloidal stability of the suspensions and the instantaneous stability during the preparation process. The length of the hydrophobic block was a parameter of less relevance, but a minimum length was required for the copolymers to be soluble in the organic phase. The miniemulsion polymerization process using block copolymer emulsifiers could be adapted to the incorporation of large loads of vitamin E acetate used as a hydrophobe stabilizer.
Chausson
Mickael
M
Université de Lyon, Laboratoire d'Automatique et de Génie des Procédés, LAGEP, UMR CNRS 5007, Bât 308, 43 Bd 11 Novembre, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
Fluchère
Ann-Sophie
AS
Landreau
Emmanuel
E
Aguni
Youssef
Y
Chevalier
Yves
Y
Hamaide
Thierry
T
Abdul-Malak
Nabil
N
Bonnet
Isabelle
I
D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D045703:Emulsifying Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D004655:Emulsions; D005027:Ethylene Oxide; D005079:Excipients / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D007783:Lactones; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D011091:Polyesters / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry*
D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D045703:Emulsifying Agents; D004655:Emulsions; D005079:Excipients; D007783:Lactones; C400421:PLC(20)-b-PEO(44); D011091:Polyesters; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D005027:Ethylene Oxide