High Internal Phase Pickering Emulsions in Food Applications

High internal phase Pickering emulsions (HIPPEs) are soft‐solid systems in which more than 74% of the total volume is occupied by a dispersed phase and stability is conferred by solid particles irreversibly adsorbed at the oil–water interface. This architecture endows HIPPEs with remarkable resistance to coalescence and creaming, and permits the formation of viscoelastic gels without synthetic surfactants. In food science, such emulsions offer versatile platforms for texture modulation, nutrient encapsulation and controlled release of bioactives, while enabling the reduction or replacement of fats. The network of interfacial films and continuous‐phase structuring imparts mechanical resilience, allowing applications in low‐fat spreads, scaffolds for cultured foods and ingredient delivery systems. Advances in particle design, processing conditions and rheological tuning have expanded the functional scope of HIPPEs, opening new pathways for sustainable and tailored food products with enhanced nutritional profiles and sensory properties.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A versatile strategy exploiting depletion interactions between emulsion droplets and colloidal particles has been demonstrated to yield highly stable HIPPEs across a broad particle library. By introducing non‐adsorbing water‐soluble polymers as depletants, particles are driven to adsorb irreversibly at the oil–water interface and resisted from desorption, even at internal phase volumes exceeding 75%. Modulating polymer concentration allows fine control of droplet size, interfacial film compactness and viscoelastic response of the continuous phase. This seminal approach offers a general framework for designing particle–polymer combinations that form robust interfacial networks, with potential to template porous matrices for structured food and encapsulation media.

High Internal Phase Pickering Emulsions in Food Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in high internal phase pickering emulsions in food applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

High internal phase Pickering emulsion: An emulsion in which the dispersed phase volume fraction exceeds 74% and is stabilised by solid particles at the interface, leading to gel‐like behaviour.

Depletion interaction: An attractive force between colloidal particles and droplets induced by non-adsorbing polymers in solution, driving irreversible particle adsorption at interfaces.

Three-phase contact angle: The angle formed at the junction of oil, water and solid particle, indicating wettability and predicting emulsion type and stability.

Storage modulus: A rheological parameter measuring the elastic energy stored in a material under oscillatory deformation, indicative of gel strength and solidity.

References

1. Soy protein isolate-sodium alginate colloidal particles for improving the stability of high internal phase Pickering emulsions: Effects of mass ratios. Food Chemistry X (2023).
2. Processable high internal phase Pickering emulsions using depletion attraction. Nature Communications (2017).
3. High Internal Phase Oil-in-Water Pickering Emulsions Stabilized by Chitin Nanofibrils: 3D Structuring and Solid Foam . ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (2020).
4. Improved thermal and oxidation stabilities of pickering high internal phase emulsions stabilized using glycated pea protein isolate with glycation extent. LWT (2022).