Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Studying Surfactant Effects on Hydrate Crystallization at Oil-Water Interfaces Using a Low-Cost Integrated Modular Peltier Device
Published on: March 18, 2020
Isostatic ultra-high-pressure effects on supercooled melts in colloidal triglyceride dispersions
Christoph Blümer1, Karsten Mäder
1Department of Pharmacy, Institute of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Wolfgang-Langenbeck-Strasse 4, 06120, Halle/Saale, Germany.
Purpose:
Colloidal triglyceride dispersions can form metastable supercooled melts that need tedious tempering processes to be transformed into a crystalline state. We investigated the possibility of transforming the supercooled melts into crystals in a short time by treatment with isostatic high pressure.
Methods:
Nanosized supercooled melts of triglycerides in aqueous dispersions (prepared by high-pressure homogenization) were exposed to isostatic ultrahigh pressure for short periods to initialize crystallization processes. The dispersions were analyzed with different appropriate measuring methods such as differential scanning calorimetry, nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray scattering, and electron paramagnetic resonance. The resulting particle sizes were estimated by photon correlation spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy.
Results:
The results of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray, and nuclear magnetic resonance experiments show the induction of triglyceride particle crystallization by high-pressure treatment. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy shows that the triglyceride crystallization coincides with relocation of the lipophilic probe into a more polar environment. Transmission electron microscopy micrographs show the transformation of supercooled liquid particles into crystallized anisotropic particles.
Conclusion:
Crystal transformation in nanoscaled systems can be delayed for months, depending on the materials and the composite. It is shown that isostatic high-pressure treatment can be a valuable method to induce, accelerate, and control crystallization processes in specific colloidal triglyceride dispersions.
Related Concept Videos
The Colloidal State
Colloidal precipitates
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to ambient atmospheric pressure. Since the vapor pressure of a solution is lowered due to the presence of nonvolatile solutes, it stands to reason that the solution’s boiling point will subsequently be increased. Vapor pressure increases with temperature, and so a solution will require a higher temperature than will pure solvent to achieve any given vapor pressure, including one...
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation
Colloids
Comparing Intermolecular Forces: Melting Point, Boiling Point, and Miscibility
Temporary attractive forces like dispersion are present in all molecules, whether they are polar or nonpolar. They...

