Dataset Information

Interfacial solute flux promotes emulsification at the water|oil interface.

ABSTRACT: Emulsions are critical across a broad spectrum of industries. Unfortunately, emulsification requires a significant driving force for droplet dispersion. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism of spontaneous droplet formation (emulsification), where the interfacial solute flux promotes droplet formation at the liquid-liquid interface when a phase transfer agent is present. We have termed this phenomenon fluxification. For example, when HAuCl₄ is dissolved in an aqueous phase and [NBu₄][ClO₄] is dissolved in an oil phase, emulsion droplets (both water-in-oil and oil-in-water) can be observed at the interface for various oil phases (1,2-dichloroethane, dichloromethane, chloroform, and nitrobenzene). Emulsification occurs when AuCl₄^- interacts with NBu₄⁺, a well-known phase-transfer agent, and transfers into the oil phase while ClO₄^- transfers into the aqueous phase to maintain electroneutrality. The phase transfer of SCN^- and Fe(CN)₆^3- also produce droplets. We propose a microscopic mechanism of droplet formation and discuss design principles by tuning experimental parameters.

SUBMITTER: Colon-Quintana GS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9911786 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Interfacial solute flux promotes emulsification at the water|oil interface.

Colón-Quintana Guillermo S GS Clarke Thomas B TB Dick Jeffrey E JE

Nature communications 20230209 1

Emulsions are critical across a broad spectrum of industries. Unfortunately, emulsification requires a significant driving force for droplet dispersion. Here, we demonstrate a mechanism of spontaneous droplet formation (emulsification), where the interfacial solute flux promotes droplet formation at the liquid-liquid interface when a phase transfer agent is present. We have termed this phenomenon fluxification. For example, when HAuCl<sub>4</sub> is dissolved in an aqueous phase and [NBu<sub>4</ ...[more]

PMID: 36759528

Similar Datasets

Project description:Understanding the interaction of nanoparticles with proteins and how this interaction modifies the nanoparticles’ surface is crucial before their use for biomedical applications. Since fluorinated materials are emerging as potential imaging probes and delivery vehicles, their interaction with proteins of biological interest must be studied in order to be able to predict their performance in real scenarios. It is known that fluorinated planar surfaces may repel the unspecific adsorption of proteins but little is known regarding the same process on fluorinated nanoparticles due to the scarce examples in the literature. In this context, the aim of this work is to propose a simple and fast methodology to study fluorinated nanoparticle-protein interactions based on interfacial surface tension (IFT) measurements. This technique is particularly interesting for fluorinated nanoparticles due to their increased hydrophobicity. Our study is based on the determination of IFT variations due to the interaction of quantum dots of ca. 5 nm inorganic core/shell diameter coated with fluorinated ligands (QD_F) with several proteins at the oil/water interface. Based on the results, we conclude that the presence of QD_F do not disrupt protein spontaneous film formation at the oil/water interface. Even if at very low concentrations of proteins the film formation in the presence of QD_F shows a slower rate, the final interfacial tension reached is similar to that obtained in the absence of QD_F. The differential behaviour of the studied proteins (bovine serum albumin, fibrinogen and apotransferrin) has been discussed on the basis of the adsorption affinity of each protein towards DCM/water interface and their different sizes. Additionally, it has been clearly demonstrated that the proposed methodology can serve as a complementary technique to other reported direct and indirect methods for the evaluation of nanoparticle-protein interactions at low protein concentrations.

Dataset Information

Interfacial solute flux promotes emulsification at the water|oil interface.

Publications

Interfacial solute flux promotes emulsification at the water|oil interface.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets