Chapter 6: Nanoemulsions and Emulsions

Emulsions have wide applications in the food industry, and nanoemulsions, which have a smaller size and exhibit prominent physicochemical properties, have also attracted much attention and gained increasing use in various food sections. Emulsions and nanoemulsions are thermodynamically unstable systems, and it is, therefore, critical to select appropriate components, suitable processing methods, and optimized parameters to maximize their applications, such as delivery vehicles for bioactive compounds. In this chapter, the molecular characteristics, structure, preparation, stability, and applications of nanoemulsions and emulsions are presented to provide the fundamental yet thorough information for the reader.