Preparation characteristics of water-in-oil-in-water multiple emulsions using microchannel emulsification

Microchannel (MC) emulsification is a novel technique for preparing monodispersed emulsions. This study demonstrates preparing water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) emulsions using MC emulsification. The W/O/W emulsions were prepared by a two-step emulsification process employing MC emulsification as the second step. We investigated the behavior of internal water droplets penetrating the MCs. Using decane, ethyl oleate, and medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) as oil phases, we observed successful MC emulsification and prepared monodispersed oil droplets that contained small water droplets. MC emulsification was possible using triolein as the oil phase, but polydispersed oil droplets were formed from some of the channels. No leakage of the internal water phase was observed during the MC emulsification process. The internal water droplets penetrated the MC without disruption, even though the internal water droplets were larger than the resulting W/O/W emulsion droplets. The W/O/W emulsion entrapment yield was measured fluorometrically and found to be 91%. The mild action of droplet formation based on spontaneous transformation led to a high entrapment yield during MC emulsification. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.