INSTABILITY OF EMULSIONS | i. Coalescence \_ 7 I. Flocculation ae J Good Emulsion ill, Creaming iv. Breaking 77 i. Flocculation Flocculation :- Neighboring globules comes closer to each other & form colonies in the continuous phase. ‘These aggregation of globule is not clearly visible this is the initial stage which leads to instability of emulsion. Flocculation of dispersed phase may take place during before or after creaming. Saas ia Gooa Emulsion iv. Breaking 15/27REASONS OF CRACKING :- 1. By addition of emulsifying agents of opposite type. 2, By decomposition of precipitation of emulsifying agent. 3. By addition of common solvent. 4, By micro organism. By addition of emulsifying agent of opposite type :- Soaps of monovalent metals produce oil in water types of emulsions. Soaps of divalent metals produce water in oil types of emulsion. But the addition of monovalent soap to a divalent soap or divalent soap to a monovalent soap leads to cracking of emulsion, By decomposition of precipitation of emulsifying: ‘When acid is added to an alkali soap emulsion (turpentine liniment) it causes the decomposition of an emulsifying agent & thus leads to cracking of an emulsion. larly when sodium chloride is added to sodium NA+ or K+soap emulsion,tt leads to precipitation of emulsifying agent and thus cracking of emulsion takes place. By addition of common solvent :~ When a solvent is added to an emulsion which is either miscible with or dissolve with dispread phase «the Emulsifying Agent and continuous phase, there is formation of one phase of clear solution. This leads to cracking of emulsion. Example: addition of alcohol to turpentine liniment leads to the formation of clear solution because turpentine oil, soft soap and water are soluble in alcohol. By micro organism :- If emulsion are not stored properly they may develop bacterial and mould growth. This may lead to destruction of emulsifying agent and cause cracking of emulsion. Therefore it is desirable that all emulsion which are required to be stored for a long period should be suitably preserved. Changes In temperature When emulsions are stored for a long time, an increased in temp may reduce the viscosity of emulsions and encourage creaming. When emulsion are stored at a very low temp freezing of its water content into ice & subsequent melting of the ice & shaking may reform the emulsions.> Creaming:- creaming may be defined as upward moment of dispersed globule to form a thick layer at the surface of the emulsion. Creaming is a temporary phase because it can be redistributed by mild shaking or stirring to get again homogenous emulsion. Creaming of an emulsion should be avoided because it may lead to cracking with complete separation of two phases. According to stokes law the rate of creaming depends on the number of factors which can be explained by the following equati FACTORS AFFECTING CREAMING ARE BEST DESCRIBE BY STOKE’S LAW :- V= 2r (dd) e/9n * Where V= rate of creaming * rsradius of globules d= density of dispersed phase d.= density of dispersion medium * gz gravitational constant + 1 = viscosity of the dispersion medium A. Radius of globules ‘The rate of creaming is directly proportional to the radius of the globules. larger the size of the globules, the more will be creaming and smaller the size of the globules lesser will be the creaming, ‘The small globules will raise less quickly than large globules. Hence creaming can be reduced by reducing size of globules by passing the emulsion through a homogenizer. Difference in density of disperse phase and continuous phase The rate of creaming depends upon the difference blw the densities of the dispersed and continuous phase. Greater the difference, more will be creaming. ‘This difference can reduced but it is not desirable because it is not required therapeutically. Viscosity Of Dispersion Medi ‘The rate of creaming is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the dispersion medium. 47/94‘© The viscosity can be increased by adding tragacanth & methyl cellulose. but too much viscosity is undesirable because it may become difficult to re- dispersed the material which have settled at the bottom. Moreover it is difficult to pour the emulsion from the container. D. Storage Condition:- © The emulsion should be stored in a cool place because the rise in temperature reduces the viscosity, Which may leads to creaming. © The freezing should be avoided because it may lead to cracking. Creaming is of two types, upward creaming and downward creaming Phase Inversion:- It mean the changes of one type of emulsion into other type i.e. o/w emulsion charges into w/o type and vice versa. It may be due to the following reasons. 1. By the addition of an electrolyte. 2. Changes the phase volume 3. By temperature charge. 4, By changing the emulsifying agent. ‘The phase inversion can be minimized by keeping the conc. Of dispersed phase between 30-60 %, storing the emulsion in cool place & by using proper emulsifying agent in adequent concentration. + EMULSIFYING AGEN «The emulsifying agents reduce the interfacial tension between two phases i.e; oily phase and aqueous phase and thus make them miscible with each other and form a stable emulsion. Emulsifying agents are known as emulgent or emulsifier. + Eg:- Acacia, tragacanth, etc. * These 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. These agents have both a hydrophilic and a lipophilic part in their chemical structure. All emulsifying agents concentrate at and are adsorbed onto the oil/water interface to provide a protective barrier around the dispersed droplets. In addition to this protective barrier, emulsifiers stabilize the emulsion by reducing the interfacial tension of the system. Some agents enhance stability by imparting a charge on the droplet surface thus reducing the physical contact between the droplets and decreasing the potential for coalescence. Thus these act in three ways: 18/21