Abstract:
This thesis focuses on Pickering emulsions. This type of emulsion is characterized by an interphase stabilized through solid nano-size particles. These particles are not surface active, but instead build a mechanical barrier around the drops in the inner phase to prevent coalescence. In contrast to common emulsions, there is no need to use emulsifying agents that may cause irritations. Pickering emulsions are also distinguished by increased storage stability and can be processed easily without high energy input.
Aim of this thesis was to investigate the relationship between the physicochemical properties of the stabilizing pigments and the stability of the emulsions. Also, various additional influences on the stability of the emulsions (e.g. change of pH and addition of HPMC) were studied. Based on these fundamental results, suitable pigments were chosen and, together with an oil and a water component, processed to a stabile o/w-Pickering emulsion. Thus, a subsequent aim was the transformation of o/w-Pickering emulsions into solid pharmaceutical formulations via granulation in fluidized beds. Diclofenac was used as a model drug.
The solid particles stabilizing the emulsion are nano-size pigments made of zinc oxide and titan dioxide with varying surface coatings. Due to these different surface coatings, pigment properties such as wettability, zeta potential, and pH dependent behaviour change. These varying physicochemical properties of the pigment affect emulsion stability and were evaluated systematically within this work.
Incorporation of lipid-soluble drugs into o/w-Pickering emulsions has several advantages: Lipophilic drugs are protected from light and oxygen through the stabilizing solid layer surrounding the oil drops. Also, bioavailability of sparingly soluble drugs might be increased due to a facilitated phase transfer into the hydrophilic phase. Another advantage of solid particles in comparison to surfactants is that solid particles do not impede fat digestion, which could negatively affect bioavailability. Pickering emulsions also have high coalescence stability because of their stable surface coating and are thus particularly suitable for the conversion into dry emulsions. The structure of the disperse phase is conserved even after complete removal of water. In this work, Pickering emulsions are used as a binder liquid in a fluidized bed granulation process,. This method exploits the advantages of common granulation techniques and thus has the advantage of producing easily tablettable products with sufficient flowing-, binding-, and disintegration properties. If the starting emulsion had been stabilized with different pigments, the resulting granules showed particularly high storage stability that was independent of storage conditions. In addition, the granules showed good flow properties and could be easily reconstituted with water. Liberation studies of the model drug Diclofenac from Pickering emulsions and their granules showed a pH dependent course. A slight delay of Diclofenac liberation was observed with hydrophobic pigments, which was due to a diffusion barrier