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. 2022 Jun 7;14(6):1212.
doi: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14061212.

Influence of Oil Polarity and Cosurfactants on the Foamability of Mono- and Diacylphosphatidylcholine Stabilized Emulsions

Manuel Bunk  1 , Rolf Daniels  1
Affiliations

Influence of Oil Polarity and Cosurfactants on the Foamability of Mono- and Diacylphosphatidylcholine Stabilized Emulsions

Manuel Bunk et al. Pharmaceutics. .

Abstract

Foam formulations are safe and effective therapy options for the treatment of chronic skin conditions that require the application of a topical formulation to delicate skin areas, such as scalp psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis. This study focused on the development of foamable emulsions based on aqueous phospholipid blends. The effects of cosurfactants (nonionic Lauryglucoside (LG); zwitterionic Lauramidopropyl betaine (LAPB)), as well as of oil phases of different polarities, namely paraffin oil (PO), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) and castor oil (CO), were investigated. The foaming experiments showed that both the type of cosurfactant, as well as the type of oil phase, affects the quality of the resulting foam. Emulsions that were based on a combination of hydrogenated lysophosphatidylcholine (hLPC) and a non-hydrogenated phospholipid, as well as LG as a cosurfactant and MCT as an oil phase, yielded the most satisfactory results. Furthermore, profile analysis tensiometry (PAT), polarization microscopy and laser diffraction analysis were used to characterize the developed formulations. These experiments suggest that the employed phospholipids predominantly stabilize the emulsions, while the cosurfactants are mainly responsible for the formation and stabilization of the foams. However, it appears that both sets of excipients are needed in order to acquire stable emulsions with satisfactory foaming properties.

Keywords: diacylphosphatidylcholine; emulsion; foam; laser diffraction measurements; monoacylphosphatidylcholine; phospholipids; profile analysis tensiometry (PAT).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biochemical modification of native phosphatidylcholine (PC).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Foaming and height detection by means of the DFA100.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Scheme of the measuring principle of the structure detection applied by the DFA100.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Time course of the total foam height of the aqueous phospholipid premixes; mean ± SD, n = 3.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Structure of foamed premixes over time; mean ± SD, n = 3.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Comparison of the foams generated from Premix 5 + 10.0% MCT with and without a cosurfactant; mean ± SD, n = 3; ** p ≤ 0.01.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Time course of the total foam height of the phospholipid emulsions; mean ± SD, n = 3.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Structures of foamed emulsions over time; mean ± SD, n = 3.
Figure 9
Figure 9
(a) The d10, d50 and d90 values during storage. (b) Volume-based droplet size distribution on 1 day (red) and 12 weeks (green) after preparation; mean ± SD, n = 3.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Surface tension of the PL emulsions and precursors; mean ± SD, n = 5; **** p ≤ 0.0001.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Polarization microscopic images of foams generated from the (a) LG + Premix 3 and (b) LG + Premix 5.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Polarization microscope image of dried-up foam generated from Premix 5.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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