Study of the spontaneous nano-emulsification process with different octadecyl succinic anhydride derivatives

Abstract

Three new amphiphilic molecules were synthetized on a basis of a common monomer, octadecyl succinic anhydride (OSA), on which were grafted different PEGylated hydrophilic polar head. The objective of this study is to investigate a potential relationship between the chemical structure of the surfactant, and the efficiency to generate nano-emulsions through the spontaneous nano-emulsification method. Beyond the innovative synthesis and comparison of these amphiphiles, a comprehensive comparison is suggested, comparing size distribution and polydispersity for the different composition parameters, as well making a bridge with critical micelle concentration and hydrophile lipophile balance (HLB). Using OSA monomeric entity as common hydrophobic moiety, the variations in the surfactant molecules were done on the hydrophilic moiety, through the addition of one or two Jeffamine chains in different configurations, so-called C18⊖-PEG, C18-PEG and C18-PEG2. The results disclosed that C18⊖-PEG allows producing smallest size distribution and lowest PDI values. Moreover, C18⊖-PEG presents the highest critical micellar concentration, linked to a higher hydrophilicity of the molecule. This impacts the balance between surfactant affinity for oil and aqueous phases, a point probably related to the spontaneous emulsification efficiency. A last part of the study regarded the optimization of the emulsification efficiency, through a systematic study in ternary composition map, to disclosed that the best conditions are included in the lower surfactant concentrations, for water and oil contents higher and lower than 50%, respectively. The main idea behind this study was to bring further insights into the unclear relationship between the chemical structure of nonionic surfactants, and the efficiency of the emulsification by spontaneous low-energy method.