Membranes with surficial spherical nanoarchitecture – Material importance in emulsion formulation by premix membrane emulsification

Abstract

Premix membrane emulsification (PME), commonly utilized for the high-throughput manufacturing of sized-controlled emulsion droplets and microparticles with low energy inputs, was applied to the formulation of the emulsion with potential use in cosmetics. It was revealed that membrane material significantly impacts the quality and stability of the emulsion. Membrane materials with spherical (3D) architecture were generated by the chemical attachment of chitosan to the activated and silanized PVDF matrix. Hydrophobic (HB) and hydrophilic (HL) PVDF were used as starting materials. For the first time, hydrophilic PVDF was applied for such functionalization. The systematical study of wettability, surface charge, and physicochemistry was performed and referred to the quality and stability of the emulsion. It was found, that hybrid membranes HB-chitosan were the most effective, joining hydrophobic surface with hydrophilic domains. Owing to the unique structure, the mentioned material was the most promising, considering the transport features, stability, and physicochemical properties. Due to the production of highly stable emulsions their potential in the formulation of cosmetic products is pointed out. The collected results allow to fill the scientific gap identified in the literature on the lack of research focusing on the droplet break-up in PME and the correlation between membrane features and emulsion formulation effectiveness. Such correlation was deliberated and supported with the comprehensive experimental study.