Ultrasonic Production of Nano-emulsions for Bioactive Delivery in Drug and Food Applications

This SpringerBrief provides an overview of ultrasonic emulsification and an update on recent advances in developing stable emulsions for the creation of novel drugs and functional foods, with a focus on bioactive delivery in these products.

Emulsification is the process of combining two or more immiscible liquids to form a semi-stable mixture.

These two liquids generally consist of an organic (oil) phase and an aqueous (water) phase that is stabilized by the addition of an emulsifier.

Most common emulsions are of the oil-in-water (O/W) type, but can also be of water-in-oil (W/O) or even multiple emulsion types (i.e. double emulsions) in the form of water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) or oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O) phases.