Pickering emulsions: structure, properties and the use as colloidosomes and stimuli-responsive emulsions

Pickering emulsions are emulsions that are stabilized by solid micro- and nanoparticles. These emulsions are in most demand for applications where the use of surfactants is restricted. The review addresses stabilization of Pickering emulsions. The attention is focused on the flocculation, coalescence, sedimentation and Ostwald ripening processes taking place in these emulsions. The structures formed by particles in the emulsion dispersion medium and in thin interlayers between the dispersed phase droplets are analyzed. Methods for preparing colloidosomes, that is, microcapsules of assembled particles, from Pickering emulsions are considered. Colloidosomes are promising for the encapsulation and prolonged release of active substances. Conversely, Pickering stimuli-responsive emulsions provide intense release of encapsulated substances upon the change in the environmental parameters. This can be used not only in medicine and pharmacology, but also in sensors, food industry, paint and varnish industry, petroleum production, etc. The bibliography includes 340 references.