ABSTRACT
Tremendous progress has been made in the understanding of the surface and colloid properties of foods and in developing advanced techniques to microparticulate and disperse solid particles and liquid droplets in various continuous phases. A manufactured food product is typically a complex, multi-component, multiphase colloidal system, and its structural and textural properties are determined by the number of interactions between the various types of particles and macromolecules making up the system. Potential biopharmaceutical applications include uses such as adjuvant vaccines, prolonged drug delivery systems, sorbing reservoirs of drug overdose treatments, and immobilization of enzymes. The arrangement of the direct micelles is such that the hydrophobic "tails" collect together within the interior of the micelle while the "head" groups are in contact with the water. Microemulsions are thermodynamically stable, form almost spontaneously, and have submicronal droplets size. The ternary systems offer very significant practical and scientific elements, and contribute to the understanding of the stability/instability mechanisms of macroemulsions.
