Self-emulsification in chemical and pharmaceutical technologies
The interest in the low energy self-emulsification techniques has exploded in the recent years, driven by three main trends: by the transition to “greener” technologies in both its aspects – less energy consumption and replacement of the petrochemicals by natural ingredients; by the costly and maintenance demanding equipment for nanoemulsification; and by the quest for efficient and robust self-emulsifying formulations for oral drug delivery.
Here we first present a brief overview of the main known low-energy methods for nanoemulsion formation, focusing on their mechanistic understanding and discussing some recent advances in their development and applications. Next, we review three conceptually new approaches for self-emulsification in chemical technologies, discovered in the last several years.
The colloidal features and the specific requirements of the self-emulsifying drug-delivery systems (SEDDS) are also discussed briefly. Finally, we summarize the current trends and the main challenges in this vivid research area.
Article information: D. Cholakova, Z. Vinarov, S. Tcholakova, N. Denkov, Self-emulsification in chemical and pharmaceutical technologies, Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cocis.2022.101576.