Oil‐in‐water Pickering emulsion stabilization with oppositely charged polysaccharide particles: chitin nanocrystals/fucoidan complexes

Abstract BACKGROUND Chitin nanocrystals (ChN) are insoluble particles that can be used as stabilizers for Pickering emulsions. Their unique cationic properties and antibacterial activity have generated considerable interest among researchers. However, ChN have remained largely underexplored. Furthermore, the droplets of the emulsions stabilized by ChN are as large as 10–100 μm, and their physical stability requires further improvement. Some studies have shown that the spontaneous reaction of oppositely charged particles can effectively stabilize the emulsions. Positively charged ChN and negatively charged fucoidan (F) were therefore compounded to stabilize Pickering emulsions, and the stability of these emulsions was analyzed qualitatively. RESULTS The results showed that the composite particles comprising two polysaccharides in a mass ratio of 1:1 and at a pH of 2 (ChN 1 ‐F 1 ‐pH 2) possessed the lowest sulfate content (20.1%) and almost zero potential (−3 mV), indicating a high degree of neutralization of the positively charged amino group in ChN and the negatively charged sulfate group in F. Meanwhile, ChN 1 ‐F 1 ‐pH 2 displayed a dense network structure that improved the dispersibility and wettability (contact angle = 9.3°). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results confirmed that ChN and F were effectively combined through electrostatic interaction or neutralization to produce a polyelectrolyte complex. Furthermore, the particle size of the Pickering emulsion stabilized by ChN‐F was significantly reduced, and the maximum size did not exceed 10 μm; the physical and storage stability also improved. The ChN 1 ‐F 1 ‐pH 2 emulsion presented excellent storage stability; in particular, the emulsions stabilized by ChN 1 ‐F 1 ‐pH 5 and ChN 1 ‐F 1 ‐pH 6 exhibited excellent flocculation stabilities. CONCLUSION The size of the emulsion droplets stabilized by the oppositely charged polysaccharide particles (ChN‐F complexes) reduced significantly. Furthermore, by changing the mass ratio and pH, the microstructure and binding degree of the complexes can be adjusted, thereby promoting their adsorption on the oil–water interface and improving the stability of the Pickering emulsion. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry