Lipid transfer between submicrometer sized Pickering ISAsome emulsions and the influence of added hydrogel

Transfer of lipids between droplets in Pickering emulsions has been studied by time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The special features of self-assembled liquid-crystalline phases have been applied to examine the kinetics of internal phase reorganization imposed by lipid release and uptake by the droplets. The findings reveal faster transfer kinetics in Pickering emulsions than in emulsions stabilized with Pluronic F127. It is shown that the transfer kinetics can be accelerated by adding free surfactant to the dispersions and that this acceleration becomes more dominant when micelles are formed. The effect of immobilization of the droplets has been studied by incorporating them into the appropriate hydrogel network. The droplets are arrested, and the transfer slows down significantly at high enough concentrations of the hydrogel where nonergodic systems are obtained.