Emulsion

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This article is about mixtures of liquids. For the light-sensitive mixture used in photography,
see Photographic emulsion.

A. Two immiscible liquids, not yet emulsified

B. An emulsion of Phase II dispersed in Phase I
C. The unstable emulsion progressively separates
D. The surfactant (outline around particles) positions itself on the
interfaces between Phase II and Phase I, stabilizing the
emulsion

An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (unmixable or

unblendable) owing to liquid-liquid phase separation. Emulsions are part of a more general class
of two-phase systems of matter called colloids. Although the terms colloid and emulsion are
sometimes used interchangeably, emulsion should be used when both phases, dispersed and
continuous, are liquids. In an emulsion, one liquid (the dispersed phase) is dispersed in the other
(the continuous phase). Examples of emulsions include vinaigrettes, homogenized milk,
liquid biomolecular condensates, and some cutting fluids for metal working.
Two liquids can form different types of emulsions. As an example, oil and water can form, first,
an oil-in-water emulsion, in which the oil is the dispersed phase, and water is the continuous
phase. Second, they can form a water-in-oil emulsion, in which water is the dispersed phase and
oil is the continuous phase. Multiple emulsions are also possible, including a "water-in-oil-in-
water" emulsion and an "oil-in-water-in-oil" emulsion.[1]
Emulsions, being liquids, do not exhibit a static internal structure. The droplets dispersed in the
continuous phase (sometimes referred to as the "dispersion medium") are usually assumed to
be statistically distributed to produce roughly spherical droplets.
The term "emulsion" is also used to refer to the photo-sensitive side of photographic film. Such
a photographic emulsion consists of silver halide colloidal particles dispersed in
a gelatin matrix. Nuclear emulsions are similar to photographic emulsions, except that they are
used in particle physics to detect high-energy elementary particles.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Appearance and properties
o 2.1Instability
o 2.2Monitoring physical stability
o 2.3Accelerating methods for shelf life prediction
 3Emulsifiers
 4Mechanisms of emulsification
 5Uses
o 5.1In food
o 5.2In health care
o 5.3In firefighting
o 5.4Chemical synthesis
 6See also
 7References
 8Other sources

Etymology[edit]
The word "emulsion" comes from the Latin emulgere "to milk out", from ex "out" + mulgere "to
milk", as milk is an emulsion of fat and water, along with other components,
including colloidal casein micelles (a type of secreted biomolecular condensate).[2]

Appearance and properties[edit]

IUPAC definition
Fluid system in which liquid droplets are dispersed in a liquid.
Note 1: The definition is based on the definition in ref. [3]
Note 2: The droplets may be amorphous, liquid-crystalline, or any
mixture thereof.
Note 3: The diameters of the droplets constituting the dispersed phase
usually range from approximately 10 nm to 100 μm; i.e., the droplets
may exceed the usual size limits for colloidal particles.
Note 4: An emulsion is termed an oil/water (o/w) emulsion if the
dispersed phase is an organic material and the continuous phase is
water or an aqueous solution and is termed water/oil (w/o) if the dispersed
phase is water or an aqueous solution and the continuous phase is an
organic liquid (an "oil").
Note 5: A w/o emulsion is sometimes called an inverse emulsion.
The term "inverse emulsion" is misleading, suggesting incorrectly that
the emulsion has properties that are the opposite of those of an emulsion.
Its use is, therefore, not recommended.[4]

Emulsions contain both a dispersed and a continuous phase, with the boundary between the
phases called the "interface".[5] Emulsions tend to have a cloudy appearance because the
many phase interfaces scatter light as it passes through the emulsion. Emulsions
appear white when all light is scattered equally. If the emulsion is dilute enough, higher-
frequency (low-wavelength) light will be scattered more, and the emulsion will appear bluer –
this is called the "Tyndall effect".[6] If the emulsion is concentrated enough, the color will be
distorted toward comparatively longer wavelengths, and will appear more yellow. This
phenomenon is easily observable when comparing skimmed milk, which contains little fat,
to cream, which contains a much higher concentration of milk fat. One example would be a
mixture of water and oil.[citation needed]
Two special classes of emulsions – microemulsions and nanoemulsions, with droplet sizes below
100 nm – appear translucent.[7] This property is due to the fact that light waves are scattered by
the droplets only if their sizes exceed about one-quarter of the wavelength of the incident light.
Since the visible spectrum of light is composed of wavelengths between 390 and
750 nanometers (nm), if the droplet sizes in the emulsion are below about 100 nm, the light can
penetrate through the emulsion without being scattered.[8] Due to their similarity in appearance,
translucent nanoemulsions and microemulsions are frequently confused. Unlike translucent
nanoemulsions, which require specialized equipment to be produced, microemulsions are
spontaneously formed by "solubilizing" oil molecules with a mixture of surfactants, co-
surfactants, and co-solvents.[7] The required surfactant concentration in a microemulsion is,
however, several times higher than that in a translucent nanoemulsion, and significantly exceeds
the concentration of the dispersed phase. Because of many undesirable side-effects caused by
surfactants, their presence is disadvantageous or prohibitive in many applications. In addition,
the stability of a microemulsion is often easily compromised by dilution, by heating, or by
changing pH levels.[citation needed]
Common emulsions are inherently unstable and, thus, do not tend to form spontaneously. Energy
input – through shaking, stirring, homogenizing, or exposure to power ultrasound[9] – is needed to
form an emulsion. Over time, emulsions tend to revert to the stable state of the phases
comprising the emulsion. An example of this is seen in the separation of the oil and vinegar
components of vinaigrette, an unstable emulsion that will quickly separate unless shaken almost
continuously. There are important exceptions to this
rule – microemulsions are thermodynamically stable, while translucent nanoemulsions
are kinetically stable.[7]
Whether an emulsion of oil and water turns into a "water-in-oil" emulsion or an "oil-in-water"
emulsion depends on the volume fraction of both phases and the type of emulsifier (surfactant)
(see Emulsifier, below) present.[citation needed]
Instability[edit]
Emulsion stability refers to the ability of an emulsion to resist change in its properties over time.
[10][11]
 There are four types of instability in
emulsions: flocculation, coalescence, creaming/sedimentation, and Ostwald ripening.
Flocculation occurs when there is an attractive force between the droplets, so they form flocs,
like bunches of grapes. This process can be desired, if controlled in its extent, to tune physical
properties of emulsions such as their flow behaviour. [12] Coalescence occurs when droplets bump
into each other and combine to form a larger droplet, so the average droplet size increases over
time. Emulsions can also undergo creaming, where the droplets rise to the top of the emulsion
under the influence of buoyancy, or under the influence of the centripetal force induced when
a centrifuge is used.[10] Creaming is a common phenomenon in dairy and non-dairy beverages (i.e.
milk, coffee milk, almond milk, soy milk) and usually does not change the droplet size.
[13]
 Sedimentation is the opposite phenomenon of creaming and normally observed in water-in-oil
emulsions.[5] Sedimentation happens when the dispersed phase is denser than the continuous
phase and the gravitational forces pull the denser globules towards the bottom of the emulsion.
Similar to creaming, sedimentation follows Stokes' law.
An appropriate "surface active agent" (or "surfactant") can increase the kinetic stability of an
emulsion so that the size of the droplets does not change significantly with time. The stability of
an emulsion, like a suspension, can be studied in terms of zeta potential, which indicates the
repulsion between droplets or particles. If the size and dispersion of droplets does not change
over time, it is said to be stable.[14] For example, oil-in-water emulsions containing mono- and
diglycerides and milk protein as surfactant showed that stable oil droplet size over 28 days
storage at 25°C.[13]
Monitoring physical stability[edit]
The stability of emulsions can be characterized using techniques such as light scattering, focused
beam reflectance measurement, centrifugation, and rheology. Each method has advantages and
disadvantages.[15]
Accelerating methods for shelf life prediction[edit]
The kinetic process of destabilization can be rather long – up to several months, or even years for
some products.[16] Often the formulator must accelerate this process in order to test products in a
reasonable time during product design. Thermal methods are the most commonly used – these
consist of increasing the emulsion temperature to accelerate destabilization (if below critical
temperatures for phase inversion or chemical degradation).[17] Temperature affects not only the
viscosity but also the interfacial tension in the case of non-ionic surfactants or, on a broader
scope, interactions between droplets within the system. Storing an emulsion at high temperatures
enables the simulation of realistic conditions for a product (e.g., a tube of sunscreen emulsion in
a car in the summer heat), but also accelerates destabilization processes up to 200 times.[citation needed]
Mechanical methods of acceleration, including vibration, centrifugation, and agitation, can also
be used.[citation needed]
These methods are almost always empirical, without a sound scientific basis.[citation needed]

Emulsifiers[edit]
An emulsifier (also known as an "emulgent") is a substance that stabilizes an emulsion by
increasing its kinetic stability. Emulsifiers are part of a broader group of compounds known
as surfactants, or "surface active agents".[18] Surfactants (emulsifiers) are compounds that are
typically amphiphilic, meaning they have a polar or hydrophilic (i.e. water-soluble) part and a
non-polar (i.e. hydrophobic or lipophilic) part. Because of this, emulsifiers tend to have more or
less solubility either in water or in oil.[citation needed] Emulsifiers that are more soluble in water (and
conversely, less soluble in oil) will generally form oil-in-water emulsions, while emulsifiers that
are more soluble in oil will form water-in-oil emulsions. [19]
Examples of food emulsifiers are:

 Egg yolk – in which the main emulsifying and thickening

agent is lecithin. In fact, lecithos is the Greek word for
egg yolk.
 Mustard[20] – where a variety of chemicals in
the mucilage surrounding the seed hull act as emulsifiers
 Soy lecithin is another emulsifier and thickener
 Pickering stabilization – uses particles under certain
circumstances
 Sodium phosphates – not directly an emulsifier,[21] but
modifies behavior of other molecules, e.g. casein
 Mono- and diglycerides – a common emulsifier found in
many food products (coffee creamers, ice-creams,
spreads, breads, cakes)
 Sodium stearoyl lactylate
 DATEM (diacetyl tartaric acid esters of mono- and
diglycerides) – an emulsifier used primarily in baking
 Simple cellulose – a particulate emulsifier derived from
plant material using only water
 Proteins – those with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic
regions, e.g. sodium caseinate, as in meltable cheese
product
Detergents are another class of surfactant, and will interact physically with both oil and water,
thus stabilizing the interface between the oil and water droplets in suspension. This principle is
exploited in soap, to remove grease for the purpose of cleaning. Many different emulsifiers are
used in pharmacy to prepare emulsions such as creams and lotions. Common examples
include emulsifying wax, polysorbate 20, and ceteareth 20.[22]
Sometimes the inner phase itself can act as an emulsifier, and the result is a nanoemulsion, where
the inner state disperses into "nano-size" droplets within the outer phase. A well-known example
of this phenomenon, the "ouzo effect", happens when water is poured into a strong
alcoholic anise-based beverage, such as ouzo, pastis, absinthe, arak, or raki. The anisolic
compounds, which are soluble in ethanol, then form nano-size droplets and emulsify within the
water. The resulting color of the drink is opaque and milky white.

Mechanisms of emulsification[edit]
A number of different chemical and physical processes and mechanisms can be involved in the
process of emulsification:[5]

 Surface tension theory – according to this theory,

emulsification takes place by reduction of interfacial
tension between two phases
 Repulsion theory – the emulsifying agent creates a film
over one phase that forms globules, which repel each
other. This repulsive force causes them to remain
suspended in the dispersion medium
 Viscosity modification – emulgents
like acacia and tragacanth, which are hydrocolloids, as
well as PEG (or polyethylene glycol), glycerine, and other
polymers like CMC (carboxymethyl cellulose), all
increase the viscosity of the medium, which helps create
and maintain the suspension of globules of dispersed
phase

Uses[edit]
In food[edit]
Oil-in-water emulsions are common in food products:

 Crema (foam) in espresso – coffee oil in water (brewed

coffee), unstable colloid
 Mayonnaise and Hollandaise sauces – these are oil-in-
water emulsions stabilized with egg yolk lecithin, or with
other types of food additives, such as sodium stearoyl
lactylate
 Homogenized milk – an emulsion of milk fat in water,
with milk proteins as the emulsifier
 Vinaigrette – an emulsion of vegetable oil in vinegar, if
this is prepared using only oil and vinegar (i.e., without an
emulsifier), an unstable emulsion results
Water-in-oil emulsions are less common in food, but still exist:
  Butter – an emulsion of water in butterfat
 Margarine
Other foods can be turned into products similar to emulsions, for example meat emulsion is a
suspension of meat in liquid that is similar to true emulsions.
In health care[edit]
In pharmaceutics, hairstyling, personal hygiene, and cosmetics, emulsions are frequently used.
These are usually oil and water emulsions but dispersed, and which is continuous depends in
many cases on the pharmaceutical formulation. These emulsions may be
called creams, ointments, liniments (balms), pastes, films, or liquids, depending mostly on their
oil-to-water ratios, other additives, and their intended route of administration.[23][24] The first 5
are topical dosage forms, and may be used on the surface of
the skin, transdermally, ophthalmically, rectally, or vaginally. A highly liquid emulsion may also
be used orally, or may be injected in some cases.[23]
Microemulsions are used to deliver vaccines and kill microbes.[25] Typical emulsions used in these
techniques are nanoemulsions of soybean oil, with particles that are 400–600 nm in diameter.
[26]
 The process is not chemical, as with other types of antimicrobial treatments, but mechanical.
The smaller the droplet the greater the surface tension and thus the greater the force required to
merge with other lipids. The oil is emulsified with detergents using a high-shear mixer to
stabilize the emulsion so, when they encounter the lipids in the cell membrane or envelope
of bacteria or viruses, they force the lipids to merge with themselves. On a mass scale, in effect
this disintegrates the membrane and kills the pathogen. The soybean oil emulsion does not harm
normal human cells, or the cells of most other higher organisms, with the exceptions of sperm
cells and blood cells, which are vulnerable to nanoemulsions due to the peculiarities of their
membrane structures. For this reason, these nanoemulsions are not currently
used intravenously (IV). The most effective application of this type of nanoemulsion is for
the disinfection of surfaces. Some types of nanoemulsions have been shown to effectively
destroy HIV-1 and tuberculosis pathogens on non-porous surfaces.
In firefighting[edit]
Emulsifying agents are effective at extinguishing fires on small, thin-layer spills of flammable
liquids (class B fires). Such agents encapsulate the fuel in a fuel-water emulsion, thereby
trapping the flammable vapors in the water phase. This emulsion is achieved by applying
an aqueous surfactant solution to the fuel through a high-pressure nozzle. Emulsifiers are not
effective at extinguishing large fires involving bulk/deep liquid fuels, because the amount of
emulsifier agent needed for extinguishment is a function of the volume of the fuel, whereas other
agents such as aqueous film-forming foam need cover only the surface of the fuel to achieve
vapor mitigation.[27]
Chemical synthesis[edit]
Main article: Emulsion polymerization
Emulsions are used to manufacture polymer dispersions – polymer production in an emulsion
'phase' has a number of process advantages, including prevention of coagulation of product.
Products produced by such polymerisations may be used as the emulsions – products including
primary components for glues and paints. Synthetic latexes (rubbers) are also produced by this
process.

See also[edit]
 Emulsion dispersion
 Emulsified fuel
 Homogenizer
 Liquid whistle
 Miniemulsion
 Pickering emulsion
 Rheology
 Water-in-water emulsion

References[edit]
1. ^ Khan, A. Y.; Talegaonkar, S; Iqbal, Z; Ahmed, F. J.; Khar, R. K.
(2006). "Multiple emulsions: An overview". Current Drug
Delivery. 3 (4): 429–
43. doi:10.2174/156720106778559056. PMID 17076645.
2. ^ Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology
Dictionary". www..etymonline.com. Etymonline. Retrieved 2
November 2019.
3. ^ IUPAC (1997). "Emulsion". Compendium of Chemical
Terminology (The "Gold Book"). Oxford: Blackwell Scientific
Publications. doi:10.1351/goldbook.E02065. ISBN 978-0-9678550-
9-7. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10.
4. ^ Slomkowski, Stanislaw; Alemán, José V.; Gilbert, Robert G.;
Hess, Michael; Horie, Kazuyuki; Jones, Richard G.; Kubisa,
Przemyslaw; Meisel, Ingrid; Mormann, Werner; Penczek,
Stanisław; Stepto, Robert F. T. (2011). "Terminology of polymers
and polymerization processes in dispersed systems (IUPAC
Recommendations 2011)"  (PDF). Pure and Applied
Chemistry. 83 (12): 2229–2259. doi:10.1351/PAC-REC-10-06-
03. S2CID 96812603.
5. ^ Jump up to:a b c Loi, Chia Chun; Eyres, Graham T.; Birch, E. John
(2018), "Protein-Stabilised Emulsions", Reference Module in Food
Science, Elsevier, doi:10.1016/b978-0-08-100596-5.22490-
6, ISBN 9780081005965
6. ^ Joseph Price Remington (1990). Alfonso R. Gennaro
(ed.). Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences. Mack Publishing
Company (Original from Northwestern University) (Digitized
2010). p. 281. ISBN 9780912734040.
7. ^ Jump up to:a b c Mason TG, Wilking JN, Meleson K, Chang CB, Graves
SM (2006). "Nanoemulsions: Formation, structure, and physical
properties"  (PDF). Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. 18 (41):
R635–R666. Bibcode:2006JPCM...18R.635M. doi:10.1088/0953-
8984/18/41/R01. Archived from the original  (PDF) on 2017-01-12.
Retrieved 2016-10-26.
8. ^ Leong TS, Wooster TJ, Kentish SE, Ashokkumar M
(2009). "Minimising oil droplet size using ultrasonic
emulsification"  (PDF). Ultrasonics Sonochemistry. 16 (6): 721–
7. doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2009.02.008. hdl:11343/129835. PMID 1
9321375.
9. ^ Kentish, S.; Wooster, T.J.; Ashokkumar, M.; Balachandran, S.;
Mawson, R.; Simons, L. (2008). "The use of ultrasonics for
nanoemulsion preparation". Innovative Food Science & Emerging
Technologies. 9 (2): 170–
175. doi:10.1016/j.ifset.2007.07.005. hdl:11343/55431.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b McClements, David Julian (16 December 2004). Food
Emulsions: Principles, Practices, and Techniques, Second
Edition. Taylor & Francis. pp. 269–. ISBN 978-0-8493-2023-1.
11. ^ Silvestre, M.P.C.; Decker, E.A.; McClements, D.J. (1999).
"Influence of copper on the stability of whey protein stabilized
emulsions". Food Hydrocolloids. 13 (5): 419. doi:10.1016/S0268-
005X(99)00027-2.
12. ^ Fuhrmann, Philipp L.; Sala, Guido; Stieger, Markus; Scholten,
Elke (2019-08-01). "Clustering of oil droplets in o/w emulsions:
Controlling cluster size and interaction strength". Food Research
International. 122: 537–
547. doi:10.1016/j.foodres.2019.04.027. ISSN 0963-9969. PMID 3
1229109.
13. ^ Jump up to:a b Loi, Chia Chun; Eyres, Graham T.; Birch, E. John
(2019). "Effect of mono- and diglycerides on physical properties
and stability of a protein-stabilised oil-in-water emulsion". Journal
of Food Engineering. 240: 56–
64. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2018.07.016. ISSN 0260-8774.
14. ^ Mcclements, David Julian (2007-09-27). "Critical Review of
Techniques and Methodologies for Characterization of Emulsion
Stability". Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. 47 (7):
611–649. doi:10.1080/10408390701289292. ISSN 1040-8398. PMI
D 17943495. S2CID 37152866.
15. ^ Dowding, Peter J.; Goodwin, James W.; Vincent, Brian (2001-11-
30). "Factors governing emulsion droplet and solid particle size
measurements performed using the focused beam reflectance
technique". Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and
Engineering Aspects. 192 (1): 5–13. doi:10.1016/S0927-
7757(01)00711-7. ISSN 0927-7757.
16. ^ Dickinson, Eric (1993). "Emulsion Stability". In Nishinari,
Katsuyoshi; Doi, Etsushiro (eds.). Food Hydrocolloids. Food
Hydrocolloids: Structures, Properties, and Functions. Springer US.
pp. 387–398. doi:10.1007/978-1-4615-2486-1_61. ISBN 97814615
24861.
17. ^ Masmoudi, H.; Dréau, Y. Le; Piccerelle, P.; Kister, J. (2005-01-
31). "The evaluation of cosmetic and pharmaceutical emulsions
aging process using classical techniques and a new method:
FTIR". International Journal of Pharmaceutics. 289 (1): 117–
131. doi:10.1016/j.ijpharm.2004.10.020. ISSN 0378-5173. PMID 1
5652205.
18. ^ "Emulsions: making oil and water mix". www.aocs.org.
Retrieved 1 January 2021.
19. ^ Cassidy, L. (n.d.). Emulsions: Making oil and water mix.
Retrieved from https://www.aocs.org/stay-informed/inform-
 magazine/featured-articles/emulsions-making-oil-and-water-mix-
april-2014
20. ^ Riva Pomerantz (Nov 15, 2017). "KOSHER IN THE LAB". Ami.
No. 342.
21. ^ John R. Sevenich (1993-11-08). Quote: 'Sodium phosphates are
not emulsifiers in the strict sense, i.e. they are not surface-active
substances, yet they are commonly included in the group of
ingredients called "emulsifying agents". (See Caric et al., Food
Microstructure, Vol. 4, pgs. 297-312 (1985).' US patent №
5,466,477 — Preparation of process cheese using liquid sodium
phosphate
22. ^ Anne-Marie Faiola (2008-05-21). "Using Emulsifying
Wax". TeachSoap.com. TeachSoap.com. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
23. ^ Jump up to:a b Aulton, Michael E., ed. (2007). Aulton's Pharmaceutics:
The Design and Manufacture of Medicines (3rd ed.). Churchill
Livingstone. pp. 92–97, 384, 390–405, 566–69, 573–74, 589–96,
609–10, 611. ISBN 978-0-443-10108-3.
24. ^ Troy, David A.; Remington, Joseph P.; Beringer, Paul
(2006). Remington: The Science and Practice of
Pharmacy (21st ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
pp. 325–336, 886–87. ISBN 978-0-7817-4673-1.
25. ^ "Adjuvant Vaccine Development". Archived from the original on
2008-07-05. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
26. ^ "Nanoemulsion vaccines show increasing promise". Eurekalert!
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26. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
27. ^ Friedman, Raymond (1998). Principles of Fire Protection
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87765-440-7.

Other sources[edit]
 Philip Sherman; British Society of
Rheology (1963). Rheology of emulsions: proceedings of
a symposium held by the British Society of Rheology ...
Harrogate, October 1962.
Macmillan. ISBN 9780080102900.
 Handbook of Nanostructured Materials and
Nanotechnology; Nalwa, H.S., Ed.; Academic Press: New
York, NY, USA, 2000; Volume 5, pp. 501–575
Look up emulsion in
Wiktionary, the free
dictionary.

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 Routes of administration, dosage forms

 Tablet

 Capsule

Solids  Pastille

 Time release technology

 Osmotic delivery system

 Decoction

 Elixir

 Electuary

 Emulsion
Digestive
 Effervescent powder or tablet
tract (enteral)
 Herbal tea

 Hydrogel
Liquids
 Molecular encapsulation

 Powder

 Softgel

 Solution
Oral  Suspension

 Syrup

 Tincture

 Orally disintegrating tablet

 Film

 Lollipop

Solids  Sublingual drops

 Lozenges
Buccal (sublabial),
 Effervescent tablet
sublingual
 Chewing gum

 Mouthwash

 Toothpaste
Liquids
 Ointment

 Spray

Respiratory tract Solids  Dry-powder inhaler

  Anesthetic vaporizer

 Vaporizer
Liquids
 Nebulizer

 Metered-dose inhaler (MDI)

 Oxygen mask and Nasal cannula

 Oxygen concentrator
Gas
 Anaesthetic machine

 Relative analgesia machine

 Nasal spray

 Ear drops
lmic,
 Eye drops
nasal
 Ointment

 Hydrogel

 Insufflation

 Mucoadhesive microdisc

 Ointment

 Pessary

 Vaginal ring

enital  Douche

 Intrauterine device (IUD)

 Extra-amniotic infusion

 Intravesical infusion

 Ointment

 Suppository

 Enema 
eral)
o Solution

o Hydrogel

 Murphy drip

 Nutrient enema
  Ointment

 Topical cream

 Topical gel

 Liniment

 Paste

 Film

 DMSO solution

 Electrophoretic system
rmal
 Hydrogel

 Liposomes

 Transfersome vesicles

 Cream

 Lotion

 Lip balm

 Medicated shampoo

 Dermal patch

 Transdermal patch

 Transdermal spray

 Jet injector

ction,
 Intradermal
usion
lood)
 Subcutaneous
Skin
 Injector pen

 Transdermal implant

 Intracavernous

Organs  Intravitreal

 Intra-articular

 Intracerebral

Central nervous system  Intrathecal

 Epidural

Circulatory,  Intravenous
  Intracardiac

 Intramuscular

 Intraosseous

musculoskeletal  Intraperitoneal

 Nanocell injection

 Patient-controlled analgesia pump

 PIC line

ol 
Categories: 
 Chemical mixtures
 Colloidal chemistry
 Colloids
 Condensed matter physics
 Dosage forms
 Drug delivery devices
 Soft matter
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