Biodegradable Amphoteric Surfactants in Titration-Ultrasound Formulation of Oil-in-Water Nanoemulsions: Rational Design, Development, and Kinetic Stability

Abstract

Amphoteric amphiphilic compounds, due to their unique properties, may represent a group of safe and biocompatible surface-active agents for effective colloidal stabilization of nanoformulations. For this reason, the aim of this work was to develop and characterize the oil-in-water nanoemulsions based on two betaine-derived surfactants with high biodegradability, i.e., cocamidopropyl betaine and coco-betaine. In the first step, we investigated ternary phase diagrams of surfactant-oil-water systems containing different weight ratios of surfactant and oil, as the betaine-type surfactant entity (S), linoleic acid, or oleic acid as the oil phase (O), and the aqueous phase (W) using the titration-ultrasound approach. All the received nanoemulsion systems were then characterized upon droplets size (dynamic light scattering), surface charge (electrophoretic light scattering), and morphology (transmission electron as well as atomic force microscopy). Thermal and spinning tests revealed the most stable compositions, which were subjected to further kinetic stability analysis, including turbidimetric evaluation. Finally, the backscattering profiles revealed the most promising candidate with a size <200 nm for potential delivery of active agents in the future cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and biomedical applications.

Developing Safe Organohydrogel Sunscreens Using Polyelectrolyte–Betaine Surfactant Complexes

“…We utilized an ultrasound-assisted emulsification technique to prepare a nanoemulsion comprising oil, water, and LAPB. 45 The ternary phase diagram involving oils, water, and LAPB provides information about the phase boundaries as they relate to the composition variables of the system. Our main focus in this study was on the nanoemulsions, and we have presented the NE domains containing coconut oil in Figure 1A.…”

“…Betaine surfactants are a class of amphoteric surfactants that are characterized by their zwitterionic nature, and biodegradable betaine surfactants have gained interest due to their low toxicity, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. The use of betaine surfactants can aid in the formation of stable nanoemulsions with small droplet sizes and low polydispersity, making them suitable for various applications, including food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals . Furthermore, betaine surfactants have been reported to exhibit interactions with positively charged amine groups in chitosan (CS), a biopolymer derived from the deacetylation of chitin. − The formation of polyelectrolyte/surfactant complexes between betaine surfactants and CS can be influenced by factors, such as pH, ionic strength, and temperature, leading to changes in their physicochemical properties.…”

Allergic contact dermatitis to coco betaine in a beard cleanser

“…Both coco betaine and cocamidopropyl betaine (also known as lauramidopropyl betaine, CAS no. 61789‐40‐0) are amphoteric biobased surfactants produced from natural ‘vegan’ friendly raw materials such as coconut oil 3 . Notably, these carboxybetaines are well‐suited for biological applications because of their neutral charge, which mitigates potential interference with protein interactions.…”

Natural-Origin Betaine Surfactants as Promising Components for the Stabilization of Lipid Carriers

“…Nevertheless, unlike cationic surfactants, their unique semi-synthetic structure of green origin based on coconut oil provides them unique properties typical for biosurfactants, i.e., biodegradability, biocompatibility, non-toxicity, and gentleness of use, with a simultaneous high stabilizing and solubilizing ability. Therefore, both of these compounds have recently been successfully used to stabilize nanoemulsion and other micellar formulations, mostly for transdermal applications [31,32].…”