Protein Stabilised Submicron Emulsions

Submicron emulsions present several advantages over conventional emulsions, including an increase in the bioavailability of lipophilic components, greater stability to aggregation and gravitational separation, higher surface area for controlled release, and as a result an improved commercial shelf life. The use of proteins for the formation of submicron emulsions offers many benefits such as cleaner labelling than surfactants and added nutritional value. In this work oil-in-water submicron emulsion formation was conducted with different concentrations of native and sonolysed dairy proteins, using a low molecular weight surfactant for comparative purposes. By studying a range of dairy proteins and changing their molecular weight, the authors seek to demonstrate the important role that protein structure and properties play in the formation and stabilisation of submicron emulsions.