Formulation and Characterization of a Pharmaceutical Pickering Emulsion

The ability of solid particles to adhere to soft deformable interfaces, for example to the surface of emulsion droplets or bubbles, is currently the subject of renewed interest in material science. On the other hand, Clay minerals are among the most widely used materials in pharmaceutical formulation, because of their properties as excipients and/or their biological activities. These features depend on both their colloidal dimensions and high surface. The phenomenon that solid particles can reside at the interface of droplets, thereby providing them with resistance against coalescence or Ostwald ripening, is known as Pickering stabilization. In this study Algerian bentonite clay is used for this purpose. An evaluation of the antibacterial activity of the emulsion after incorporation of the essential oil of Thymus fontanesii (local plant) also showed a fairly good encapsulation ability.