Preparation and Evaluation of Water-in-Soybean Oil Emulsions by Microfluidic Method

Microfluidic technology is one of the new technologies that has been able to take advantage of the unique properties of fluids on a micro and nanoliter scale and is widely used in the research and treatment sectors of biology and medicine by reducing costs, storage and time. A microfluidic device is made of silicone, glass, or elastomer, in which tubes with micron dimensions are embedded, and fluids flow inside these tubes. Microfluidic systems are composed of various components: micropumps, microchannels, micromixers, microsensors, fluid reservoirs, and valves, which are usually made on a micron scale. Fluid distribution microchannels are used for fluid passage in different branches of microfluidic systems and have found wide applications. The fluid flow in these channels varies from several hundred nanoliters to several microliters per minute. In this study, the microfluidic method was used to produce water emulsions in soybean oil. Different systems of combining soybean oil and two emulsifiers (PGPR, Span 80) in various percentages of water and oil were investigated by optical microscopy.