COLLOIDS

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 Contents
 Introduction (definition, classification and applications)

 Optical properties of colloids

 Kinetic properties of colloids

 Electrical properties of colloids

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 INTRODUCTION
• A colloid is a substance microscopically dispersed throughout another
substance.

• The colloidal system consist of two phases:

– A dispersed phase ( A discontinuous phase/subdivided )
– A dispersion medium ( A continuous phase )
• The dispersed-phase particles have a diameter of between approximately
1nm – 1micrometre

• Accordingly, a convenient means of classifying dispersed systems is on the

basis of the mean particle diameter of the dispersed material.

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 Based on the size of the dispersed phase, three types of dispersed
systems are generally considered:
a) molecular dispersions/true solns,
b) colloidal dispersions, and
c) coarse dispersions.

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 Homogenous mixtures with a dispersed phase in this(1-100nm)
size range may be:

 colloidal aerosols, colloidal emulsions, colloidal foams, colloidal

dispersions, or hydrosols.

 If the dispersed phase is solid and the dispersion medium is liquid then it
is called colloidal suspension

 if the dispersed phase and dispersion medium both are in liquid state
then it is known as colloidal emulsion.

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Examples of colloids are silver solutions, milk, synthetic
polymers and blood etc.

Blood Milk

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Some examples of colloidal systems of pharmaceutical interest

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 Classification of Colloids

 Based on nature of interaction between dispersed phase and

dispersion medium:

• Lyophilic Colloids

• Lyophobic Colloids

• Association colloids

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 Lyophilic Colloids
 Lyophilic colloids are liquid loving colloids (Lyo means solvent and philic
means loving)

Ease of Preparation:

 As these colloids are liquid loving, their solutions are easy to prepare and
can be prepared directly by mixing colloid with liquid.

Stability:

 Lyophilic sols are relatively stable as strong forces of interaction exist

between colloidal particles and liquid.

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 Reversibilty
 If large quantity of liquid is added to precipitations or the
colloidal solution is stirred properly lyophilic solns can regain
their original state

– This shows that lyophilic solns are also reversible in nature

 Most lyophilic colloids are organic molecules

– for example, gelatin, acacia, insulin, albumin, rubber, and

polystyrene

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 Lyophobic Colloids
 Lyophobic colloids are solvent hating colloids

Ease of Preparation:

 As these colloids are water hating, their solutions are not easy to
prepare and cannot be prepared directly by mixing colloid with liquid.

 Special methods are employed to prepare lyophobic solutions.

Stability:

 Lyophobic sols are less stable as weak forces of interaction exist between
colloidal particles and liquid.

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 Reversibilty

 Lyophobic colloids do not regain their original state as

coagulated mass cannot be dispersed into colloidal form.

 This shows that lyophobic solutions are irreversible in nature

 composed of inorganic particles dispersed in water

– Examples of such materials are gold, silver, sulfur, arsenous

sulfide, and silver iodide

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 Special methods to prepare lyophobic colloids.

(a) dispersion methods, in which coarse particles are reduced in size

 Colloid mills and Ultrasonic treatment

(b) condensation methods, in which materials of subcolloidal dimensions are

caused to aggregate into particles within the colloidal size range.

 It involves the rapid production of supersaturated solutions of the colloidal

material under conditions in which it is deposited in the dispersion medium
as colloidal particles and not as a precipitate.

 Dialysis, Ultrafiltration and Electrodialysis

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 Association / amphiphilic colloids
 Amphiphiles or surface-active agents
 When present in a liquid medium at low concentrations, exist separately and
are of such a size as to be subcolloidal

 As the concentration is increased, aggregation occurs over a narrow

concentration range

– These aggregates, which may contain 50 or more monomers, are

called micelles

 The concentration of monomer at which micelles form is termed the critical

micelle concentration(CMC)

 The number of monomers that aggregate to form a micelle is known as

the aggregation number of the micelle 14
 amphiphilic colloids
 As with lyophilic solns, formation of association colloids is
spontaneous, provided that the concentration
of the amphiphile in solution exceeds the CMC.

 Amphiphiles may be anionic, cationic, nonionic, or ampholytic

(zwitter ionic)

 Mixtures of two or more amphiphiles are usual in

pharmaceutical formulations

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 Pharmaceutical Applications of Colloids
 Therapeutic Agents

 Colloidal material are used for a variety of pharmaceutical

application including therapeutic & diagnostic agents, drug delivery
system.

– Example: copper colloids ( anti cancer)

 bacterial, viral, parasitic antigens (vaccines)

 DNA, DNA fragments (gene therapy)

 Chemotherapeutic agents
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 Pharmaceutical Applications..
 Drug substances may also be prepared as colloidal sized particles to
improve bioavailability or therapeutic activity

 Because of their large SA, colloids show greater efficiency for absorption
and adsorption.
 Eg. kaoline b/c of its small size show adsorption properties for toxins Colloidal
aluminum hydroxide shows better rate of neutralization of stomach acid.

 Particle size reduction also alter some of the therapeutic properties of the
drug.
 Eg. Colloidal silver is a more effective germicidal while colloidal mercury is
effective for t/t of syphilis
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 Pharmaceutical Applications..
 Used as pharmaceutical adjuvant.

 eg, naturally occurring plant macromolecules (colloids) such as starch,

cellulose

 As coatings to solid dosage forms to protect drugs from atmospheric or

gastric conditions.

-form monomolecule

 Colloidal electrolytes are used to increase solubility and the palatability

of certain ingredients pharmaceutical preparations

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 Pharmaceutical Applications..
 To increase the bioavailability of drug substances

 To improve drug stability

 To sustain and control drug-release rates

 To target drugs to specific sites in the body

Nanospheres, Liposomes , Nanocapsules/microcapsules,

Hydrogels

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 Properties of Colloids

I. Size and shape

II. Optical Properties

III. Kinetic Properties

IV. Electrical Properties

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 Properties of Colloids..
A. Size and shape

 Size may affect: drug release from DFs, drug bioavailability, separation
technique.

 Within the size range of colloidal dimensions, there is often a wide

distribution of sizes of the dispersed colloidal particles.

 particle size is therefore an average value

 the magnitude of which is dependent on the experimental technique

used in its measurement

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 Properties of Colloids..
 When determined by the measurement of colligative properties such
as osmotic pressure, a number average value, Mn, is obtained which,
in a mixture containing n1, n2, n3, … moles of particle of mass M1,
M2, M3, … respectively, is de ned by:

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 Properties of Colloids..
shape can affect

 The specific surface area exposed

 The more extended the particles the greater its specific SA and
greater opportunity for attraction forces.

 The flow, compressibility and sedimentation properties of colloids

and pharmacological action.

 Many colloidal systems, including liquid aerosols and most dilute

micellar solutions, contain spherical particles.

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 Optical Properties of Colloids
 When an intense converging beam of light is passed through a
colloidal solution kept in dark, the path of the beam gets illuminated
with a bluish light.
– This phenomenon is called Tyndall effect

 The Tyndall effect is due to the scattering of light by colloidal

particles.

 Since the dimensions of colloidal particles are comparable to the

wavelength of ultraviolet and visible radiations, they scatter these
radiations and get illuminated.
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 Optical Properties…
 Tyndall effect is not exhibited by true solutions.
 This is because the particles (ions or molecules) present in a true
solution are too small to scatter light.
 Tyndall effect can be used to distinguish a colloidal solution from a true
solution.
 Tyndall effect also establishes the fact that colloidal systems are
heterogeneous in nature.
 The intensity of the scattered light depends on the:
 difference between the refractive indices of the dispersed phase and
the dispersion medium
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 Optical Properties…
 Because of the scattered light the sol appears turbid: this is known as the
Tyndall effect.

 The turbidity of a sol(cm-1) is given by the expression:

Where R90 is scattered light, at an angle 900

Iɵ is the intensity of the scattered light and I0 that of the incident light;

r is the distance from the scattering particle to the point of observation

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 Optical Properties…
Tyndall effect
 Used for determining the molecular weight of colloids.

– Where C is the concentration of the solute (g/cm3) of sol

– B an interaction constant allowing for non-ideality

– H is an optical constant for a particular system, depending on the refractive

index change with concentration and the wavelength of light used

– A plot of HC/τ (mole/g) vs. c results in a straight line of slope 2B

– The intercept is 1/M, the average molecular weight(g/mole)

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 Kinetic properties
 Deals with motion of particles with respect to the dispersion medium.

 The movement of particles may be:

 Thermally induced

 Brownian motion, diffusion, osmosis

 Gravitationally induced; sedimentation

 Externally induced; viscosity

 The measurement of these properties is used to determine molecular

weight or particle size.

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 Kinetic properties ..
Brownian Movement

 Particles are generally small enough to be influenced by the collision with

molecules of the dispersion medium.

 When particles are observed, they are seen to move in a random, erratic
manner, referred to as Brownian motion.

 Velocity of particles increase with decreasing of particles size and viscosity

of the medium.

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 Kinetic properties ..
 The Brownian movement decreases with an increase in the size of
colloidal particle.
 This is why suspensions do not exhibit this type of movement.
 Brownian movement plays an important role in imparting stability
to a solution.
 because Brownian movement opposes the gravitational forces
acting on colloidal particles and prevents them from getting
settled down.

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 Electrical Properties
 Some important electrical properties of colloidal solutions are as
follows:

 Presence of electrical charge on colloidal particles and stability

of sols:

– colloidal particles posses a definite type of electrical charge.

– In a particular colloidal solution, all the colloidal particles carry

the same type of charge, while the dispersion medium has an
equal but opposite charge.

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 Electrical Properties
 The stability of a colloidal solution is mainly due to the presence of a
particular type of charge on all the colloidal present in it.
 Due to the presence of similar and equal charges, the colloidal particles
repel one another and are thus unable to combine together to form
larger particles.
 This keeps them dispersed in the medium and the colloidal remains
stable.
 This is why sol particles do not settle down even on standing for a long
time.

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 Electrical Properties
 Based on the nature of charge, the colloidal sols may be
 Positively charged sols: Metallic hydroxide sols e.g.,
Fe(OH)3, Al(OH)3, Cr(OH)3, etc., haemoglobin, sols of basic
dyes such as methylene blue etc.
 Negatively charged sols: starch sol, sols of acid dyes such
as Congo red etc.

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 Origin of charge on colloidal particles
 Due to dissociation of the adsorbed molecular electrolytes
 Colloidal particles have a strong tendency to adsorb reactant or product
molecules.
 The molecules thus adsorbed on the surface of colloidal particles may
undergo dissociation/ionization and may impart charge to them.
 E.g. during the preparation of sulphide sols (e.g., As2S3 sol)
 H2S molecules adsorbed undergo ionization and release H+ ions into the
medium.
 Consequently, colloidal particles are left with negative charge.

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 Due to the dissociation of molecules forming colloidal aggregates
 The molecules responsible for the formation of aggregates of colloidal
dimensions may themselves undergo dissociation/ionisation
 resulting in the development of charge on the colloidal particles
formed by their aggregation.

 Due to preferential adsorption of ions from solutions:

 The colloidal particles have a tendency to preferentially adsorb a
particular type of ions from the solution.
 A colloidal particle usually adsorbs those ions which are in excess and are
common to its own lattice.

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 Electrokinetic phenomena
 General description applied to the phenomena that arise when attempts
are made to shear off the mobile part of the electrical double layer from
a charged surface.

 Four types of electrokinetic phenomena:

 Electrophoresis, sedimentation potential, streaming potential and

electro-osmosis.

 All of which can be used to measure the zeta potential

 Electrophoresis is the easiest to use and has the greatest pharmaceutical

application.
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 Electrophoresis
 Due to the presence of a particular type of electrical charge,
the colloidal particles present in a colloidal dispersion move
towards a particular electrode under the influence of an
electric field.
 positively charged, move towards cathode when subjected
to an electric field and vice versa.
 The phenomenon is called electrophoresis

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 The phenomenon of electrophoresis clearly indicates that the
colloidal particles carry a particular type of charge.
 The property can be used to find the nature of charge carried by
colloidal particles in a colloidal dispersion.

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 Sedimentation potential
 The potential difference set up b/n top and bottom of a suspension of solid
particles in a liquid when the particles settle under the influence of gravity

 the reverse of electrophoresis

 is the electric field created when particles sediment

 Streaming potential
 the electric field created when liquid is made to flow along a stationary
charged surface
 Is due to the displacement of the charges equilibrated in the double layer
around the solid.

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Electro-osmosis
 When the movement of colloidal particles under the influence
of the applied electric field is checked with the help of a
suitable membrane (semi permeable membrane),
 the dispersion medium moves in a direction opposite to the
direction in which the colloidal particles would have
otherwise moved.
 This phenomenon is called electro-osmosis made by semi
permeable membranes.

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 The colloidal particles and dispersion medium carry charges which are
equal but opposite in nature.
 Under the influence of an electric field, both have a tendency to move
towards the oppositely charged electrodes.
 Semi permeable membranes do not allow the passage of colloidal
particles.
 However, dispersion medium can pass through them.
 Therefore during electro-osmosis, colloidal particles are checked and it is
the dispersion medium that moves towards the oppositely charged
electrode.

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 Coagulation or flocculation
 The stability of a sol is due to the charge present on the colloidal
particles.
 Due to similar charges, colloidal particles repel one another and are
unable to combine together to form larger particles.
 However, if the charge on colloidal particles is destroyed, they are
free to come nearer and grow in size.
 When the particles become sufficiently large, they get precipitated.
 This phenomenon is termed as coagulation or flocculation.

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 Stability of colloidal systems

 Depends on two factors

The presence of charge on the dispersed colloidal particles.

The presence of solvent sheath surrounding each dispersed

particles.

 Stability of hydrophobic colloid is largely due to the electric charge

on the surface of the dispersed particle.

 For lyophilic colloid it is solvent sheath.

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Thank you

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