Biocompatible Pickering Nanoemulsions for Cosmetics Applications

Emulsions comprise microscopic droplets of a liquid (e.g. oil) dispersed within a second immiscible liquid (e.g. water). A Pickering emulsion is a special type of emulsion in which the droplets are coated with tiny particles, which prevent droplet coalescence. Ashland is a specialty chemicals company that has recently commercialised a sustainable soya bean-derived triglyceride oil, which has applications in sun care, skin care and colour cosmetics. Prof. Armes has two decades of experience in Pickering emulsions and has recently prepared a series of Pickering nanoemulsions by processing an initially coarse Pickering emulsion to generate much finer oil droplets (mean droplet diameter < 500 nm). Such processing is conducted in the presence of excess nanoparticles via high-pressure microfluidisation. As additional surface area is created, the new nascent oil droplets are coated by the excess nanoparticles, thus stabilising the nanoemulsion. In principle, Pickering nanoemulsion formulations should offer new applications for Ashland's proprietary oil because the smaller droplet size should lead to much faster skin penetration. The PhD student will design bespoke nanoparticles to prepare Pickering nanoemulsions using Ashland's proprietary oil, characterise such nanoemulsions utilising various analytical techniques, and evaluate potential applications in the context of home & personal care products.