Stable emulsions of droplets in a solid edible organogel matrix

Soft Matter
Andrew B MathesonPaul S Clegg

Abstract

Sitosterol and oryzanol self-assemble to form very firm gels in a range of organic solvents. However, due to the formation of sitosterol hydrate crystals, these gels are unstable in the presence of water, prohibiting the dispersal of water droplets throughout the gel matrix. We demonstrate that by using glycerol as the polar phase rather than water, droplets may be dispersed throughout the oil phase without disrupting the self-assembly of the gel. As increasing volumes of water are added to the glycerol, the G' values decrease. This can be correlated to both a drop in water activity, and also the stability of the fibrils in the presence of glycerol compared to water, as elucidated by molecular dynamics simulations. We explore how changing the total volume of polar droplets, and changing the water content of these droplets alters the strength of 15% w/w sterol gels. We find that gels exhibit G' values of ∼1 × 107 Pa even with ∼30% w/w glycerol dispersed throughout the matrix. At higher glycerol loadings, complex multiple emulsion morphologies can form.

References

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Nov 22, 2005·Expert Opinion on Drug Delivery·Sudaxshina Murdan
Dec 18, 2007·Journal of Controlled Release : Official Journal of the Controlled Release Society·Anda Vintiloiu, Jean-Christophe Leroux
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Jul 9, 2013·Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation·Daniel R Roe, Thomas E Cheatham
Apr 22, 2017·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Andrew B MathesonPaul Clegg
Nov 8, 2017·Food & Function·Andrew B MathesonPaul S Clegg

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Citations

Jul 3, 2018·Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids·Georgios DalkasStephen R Euston

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
rheology
neutron scattering
AFM
from
confocal microscopy

Software Mentioned

VMD
Packmol
AutoDock4
OMEGA
AutoDock
AMBER16
AmberTools
CPPTRAJ
Antechamber
AMBER

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