Emulsifying agent
From Pharmpedia
Emulsifying Agents are the substances added to an emulsion to prevent the coalescence of the globules of the dispersed phase. They are also known as emulgents or emulsifiers. They act by reducing the interfacial tension between the two phases and forming a stable interfacial film. The choice of selection of emulsifying agent plays a very important role in the formulation of a stable emulsion. No single emulsifying agent possesses all the properties required for the formulation of a stable emulsion therefore sometimes blends of emulsifying agents have to be taken.
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Criteria For The Selection Of Emulsifying Agents
An ideal emulsifying agent should posses the following characteristics:
- It should be able to reduce the interfacial tension between the two immiscible liquids.
- It should be physically and chemically stable, inert and compatible with the other ingredients of the formulation.
- It should be completely non irritant and non toxic in the concentrations used.
- It should be organoleptically inert i.e. should not impart any colour, odour or taste to the preparation.
- It should be able to form a coherent film around the globules of the dispersed phase and should prevent the coalescence of the droplets of the dispersed phase.
- It should be able to produce and maintain the required viscosity of the preparation.
Classification Of Emulsifying Agents
Emulsifying agents can be classified as:
Natural emulsifying agents from vegetable sources
These consist of agents which are carbohydrates and include gums and mucilaginous substances. Since these substances are of variable chemical composition, these exhibit considerable variation in emulsifying properties. They are anionic in nature and produce o/w emulsions. They act as primary emulsifying agents as well as secondary emulsifying agents (emulsion stabilizers). Since carbohydrates acts a good medium for the growth of microorganism, therefore emulsions prepared using these emulsifying agents have to be suitable preserved in order to prevent microbial contamination. E.g. tragacanth, acacia, agar, chondrus (Irish Moss), pectin and starch.
Natural emulsifying agents from animal source
The examples include gelatin, egg yolk and wool fat (anhydrous lanolin). Type A gelatin (Cationic) is generally used for preparing o/w emulsion while type B gelatin is used for o/w emulsions of pH 8 and above. Lecithin and cholesterol present in egg yolk also act as emulsifying agent. They show surface activity and are used for formulating o/w emulsions. However they are used only for extemporaneous preparation and not for commercial preparation as it darken and degrade rapidly in unpreserved systems. Wool fat is mainly used in w/o emulsions meant for external use. They absorb large quantities of water and form stable w/o emulsions with other oils and fats.
Semi-synthetic polysaccharides
Includes mainly cellulose derivatives like sodium carboxy methyl cellulose, hydroxyl propyl cellulose and methyl cellulose. They are used for formulating o/w type of emulsions. They primarily act by increasing the viscosity of the system. e.g., methyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose and sodium carboxy methyl cellulose.
Synthetic emulsifying agents
This group contains surface active agents which act by getting adsorbed at the oil water interface in such a way that the hydrophilic polar groups are oriented towards water and lipophillic non polar groups are oriented towards oil, thus forming a stable film. This film acts as a mechanical barrier and prevents coalescence of the globules of the dispersed phase. They are classified according to the ionic charge possessed by the molecules of the surfactant e.g., anionic, cationic, non-ionic and ampholytic.
Anionic Surfactants
The long anion chain on dissociation imparts surfaceactivity, while the cation is inactive. These agents are primarily used for external preparations and not for internal use as they have an unpleasant bitter taste and irritant action on the intestinal mucosa. e.g., alkali soaps, amine soaps, metallic soaps, alkyl sulphates and phosphates and alkyl sulphonates.
Cationic surfactants
The positive charge cations produced on dissociation are responsible for emulsifying properties. They are mainly used in external preparations such as lotions and creams. Quaternary ammonium compounds such as cetrimide, benzalkonium chloride and benzethonium chloride are examples of important cationic surfactants. These compounds besides having good antibacterial activity are also used in combination with secondary emulsifying agents to produce o/w emulsions for external application.
Non-ionic surfactants
They are the class of surfactants widely used as emulsifying agents. They are extensively used to produce both oil in water and water in oil emulsions for internal as well as external use. The emulsions prepared using these surfactants remain stable over a wide range of pH changes and are not affected by the addition of acids and electrolytes. They also show low irritancy as compared to other surfactants. E.g. glyceryl esters such as glyceryl monostearate, propylene glycol monostearate, macrogol esters such as polyoxyl stearates and polyoxyl-castor oil derivatives, sorbitan fatty acid esters such as spans and their polyoxyethylene derivatives such as tweens (polysorbates). iv) Ampholytic surfactants: These are the substances whose ionic charge depends on the pH of the system. Below a certain pH, these are cationic while above a defined pH, these are cationic. At intermediate pH these behave as zwitterions. e.g. lecithin.
Finely Divided Solids
This group consist of finely divided solids having balanced hydrophilic lipophillic properties. They accumulate at the oil/water interface and form a coherent interfacial film around the droplets of dispersed phase globules and prevent coalescence. If the solid particles are preferentially wetted by oil, a w/o emulsion is formed while if wetting is done by water then o/w emulsion is seen. e.g., bentonite, aluminium magnesium stearate, attapulgite, colloidal anhydrous silica and hectorite. The emulsions formed using finely divided solids are stable and less prone to microbial contamination.
Author
Dr. Javed Ali , Dr. Sanjula Baboota , Dr. Alka Ahuja
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