HLD concept as a tool for the characterization of cosmetic hydrocarbon oils

Decoding Cosmetic Complexities: A Comprehensive Guide to Matrix Composition and Pretreatment Technology

Despite advancements in analytical technologies, the complex nature of cosmetic matrices, coupled with the presence of diverse and trace unauthorized additives, hinders the application of these technologies in cosmetics analysis. This not only impedes effective regulation of cosmetics but also leads to the continual infiltration of illegal products into the market, posing serious health risks to consumers. The establishment of cosmetic regulations is often based on extensive scientific experiments, resulting in a certain degree of latency. Therefore, timely advancement in laboratory research is crucial to ensure the timely update and adaptability of regulations. A comprehensive understanding of the composition of cosmetic matrices and their pretreatment technologies is vital for enhancing the efficiency and accuracy of cosmetic detection. Drawing upon the China National Medical Products Administration's 2021 Cosmetic Classification Rules and Classification Catalogue, we streamline the wide array of cosmetics into four principal categories based on the following compositions: emulsified, liquid, powdered, and wax-based cosmetics. In this review, the characteristics, compositional elements, and physicochemical properties inherent to each category, as well as an extensive overview of the evolution of pretreatment methods for different categories, will be explored. Our objective is to provide a clear and comprehensive guide, equipping researchers with profound insights into the core compositions and pretreatment methods of cosmetics, which will in turn advance cosmetic analysis and improve detection and regulatory approaches in the industry.

Spontaneous Emulsions: Adjusting Spontaneity and Phase Behavior by Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Difference-Guided Surfactant, Salt, and Oil Selection

Spontaneous emulsion behavior has been difficult to predict and could be influenced by many variables including salinity, temperature, and chemical composition of the oil and surfactant. In this work, the hydrophilic-lipophilic difference (HLD) framework was used to predict the formation of spontaneous emulsions using a mixture of Span-80 and SLES surfactants. The spontaneity and emulsion behavior of different systems were modeled by estimating the HLD_mix. The influence of surfactant ratio, salinity, and oil type was investigated. Spontaneous emulsification could only be observed when the HLD_mix was between -0.96 and 1.04. Within this range, a negative HLD_mix resulted in a greater spontaneity to form o/w emulsion, and a w/o emulsion was more likely to form when the HLD_mix was positive. When the HLD_mix was close to 0 (between -0.22 and 0.56 in our systems), emulsions were formed in both the oil and aqueous phases with high spontaneity. A combined effect of ultralow interfacial tension, Span-80 micelle swelling, and interfacial turbulence due to Marangoni effects is likely the main mechanism of the spontaneous emulsification observed in this study. A synergistic reduction in interfacial tension was observed between Span-80 and SLES (<1 mN/m). When the HLD of the system was close to 0, a bicontinuous emulsion phase was formed at the oil-water interface. The bicontinuous emulsion broke-up over time due to the ultralow interfacial tension and interfacial turbulence, forming dispersed oil and water droplets. Results from this work provide a practical method to suggest what surfactant composition, salinity, and oil type could promote (or eliminate) the conditions favorable for spontaneous emulsification.

How to Use the Normalized Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation (HLDN) Concept for the Formulation of Equilibrated and Emulsified Surfactant-Oil-Water Systems for Cosmetics and Pharmaceutical Products

The effects of surfactant molecules involved in macro-, mini-, nano-, and microemulsions used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are related to their amphiphilic interactions with oil and water phases. Basic ideas on their behavior when they are put together in a system have resulted in the energy balance concept labeled the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) from optimum formulation. This semiempirical equation integrates in a simple linear relationship the effects of six to eight variables including surfactant head and tail, sometimes a cosurfactant, oil-phase nature, aqueous-phase salinity, temperature, and pressure. This is undoubtedly much more efficient than the hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) which has been used since 1950. The new HLD is quite important because it allows researchers to model and somehow predict the phase behavior, the interfacial tension between oil and water phases, their solubilization in single-phase microemulsion, as well as the corresponding properties for various kinds of macroemulsions. However, the HLD correlation, which has been developed and used in petroleum applications, is sometimes difficult to apply accurately in real cases involving ionic–nonionic surfactant mixtures and natural polar oils, as it is the case in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. This review shows the confusion resulting from the multiple definitions of HLD and of the surfactant parameter, and proposes a “normalized” Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Deviation (HLDN) equation with a surfactant contribution parameter (SCP), to handle more exactly the effects of formulation variables on the phase behavior and the micro/macroemulsion properties.

Use of the normalized hydrophilic-lipophilic-deviation (HLDN) equation for determining the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN) of oils and the preferred alkane carbon number (PACN) of nonionic surfactants by the fish-tail method (FTM)

The standard HLD (Hydrophilic-Lipophilic-Deviation) equation expressing quantitatively the deviation from the "optimum formulation" of Surfactant/Oil/Water systems is normalized and simplified into a relation including only the three more meaningful formulation variables, namely (i) the "Preferred Alkane Carbon Number" PACN which expresses the amphiphilicity of the surfactant, (ii) the "Equivalent Alkane Carbon Number" EACN which accurately reflects the hydrophobicity of the oil and (iii) the temperature which has a strong influence on ethoxylated surfactants and is thus selected as an effective, continuous and reversible scanning variable. The PACN and EACN values, as well as the "temperature-sensitivity-coefficient"τ of surfactants are determined by reviewing available data in the literature for 17 nonionic n-alkyl polyglycol ether (C_iE_j) surfactants and 125 well-defined oils. The key information used is the so-called "fish-tail-temperature" T* which is a unique data point in true ternary C_iE_j/Oil/Water fish diagrams. The PACNs of C_iE_j surfactants are compared with other descriptors of their amphiphilicity, namely, the cloud point, the HLB number and the PIT-slope value. The EACNs of oils are rationalized by the Effective-Packing-Parameter concept and modelled thanks to the COSMO-RS theory.

Predicting solubilisation features of ternary phase diagrams of fully dilutable lecithin linker microemulsions

Fully dilutable microemulsions (μEs), used to design self-microemulsifying delivery system (SMEDS), are formulated as concentrate solutions containing oil and surfactants, without water. As water is added to dilute these systems, various μEs are produced (water-swollen reverse micelles, bicontinuous systems, and oil-swollen micelles), without the onset of phase separation. Currently, the formulation dilutable μEs follows a trial and error approach that has had a limited success. The objective of this work is to introduce the use of the hydrophilic-lipophilic-difference (HLD) and net-average-curvature (NAC) frameworks to predict the solubilisation features of ternary phase diagrams of lecithin-linker μEs and the use of these predictions to guide the formulation of dilutable μEs. To this end, the characteristic curvatures (Cc) of soybean lecithin (surfactant), glycerol monooleate (lipophilic linker) and polyglycerol caprylate (hydrophilic linker) and the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN) of ethyl caprate (oil) were obtained via phase scans with reference surfactant-oil systems. These parameters were then used to calculate the HLD of lecithin-linkers-ethyl caprate microemulsions. The calculated HLDs were able to predict the phase transitions observed in the phase scans. The NAC was then used to fit and predict phase volumes obtained from salinity phase scans, and to predict the solubilisation features of ternary phase diagrams of the lecithin-linker formulations. The HLD-NAC predictions were reasonably accurate, and indicated that the largest region for dilutable μEs was obtained with slightly negative HLD values. The NAC framework also predicted, and explained, the changes in microemulsion properties along dilution lines.

Experimental Study of Surfactant Retention on Kaolinite Clay

We measured equilibrium surfactant retention on kaolinite clay for a large array of surfactants. We demonstrate that the mass balance measurements we used are a rapid way to screen surfactants in terms of their potential to be used in enhanced oil recovery applications. Surfactant classes investigated include: alkyl(aryl) sulfonates, ethylene oxide-propylene oxide copolymers, ethoxylated alkylphenols, alkyl polyglucosides, sorbitan ester ethoxylates, alkyl alcohol propoxylated sulfate sodium salts, gemini surfactants, sulfosuccinates and organo silicone-ethylene oxide-propylene oxide terpolymers. We identified several surfactants which had zero retention under the test conditions and which may therefore be suitable as enhanced oil recovery chemicals in surfactant flooding schemes. We discuss surfactant retention mechanisms on kaolinite clay and analyze surfactant structure-retention relationships for several surfactant classes.

Analysis of the Influence of Alkyl Polyglycoside Surfactant and Cosolvent Structure on Interfacial Tension in Aqueous Formulations versus n-Octane

We studied the influence of molecular structural elements of alkyl polyglycoside (APG) surfactants on the interfacial tension (IFT) in aqueous formulations against n-octane. This included the analysis of alkyl and aryl chain length, type and number of sugar-ring head, anomers, addition of cosolvents and effect of salt addition. We found that longer alkyl or aryl chains lead to lower IFT, consistent with data recorded for commercial (mixed) APGs. APGs with only one sugar-ring head had lower IFT than their analog maltose derivates (two-ring head). Intriguingly the stereochemistry of the sugar head (i.e. galactose versus glucose) and the type of anomer showed a significant influence on IFT. The n-octyl-α-D-glucopyranoside anomer had a lower IFT than the corresponding β-anomer. 1-octanol and 1-hexanol were efficient cosolvents consistent with the datasets observed for commercial APGs. Salt addition reduced IFT. Functional groups (aldehyde, amide-methoxy) integrated into the molecular architecture of the APG skeleton were efficient in terms of significantly reducing IFT, suggesting a strategy for the molecular design of advanced APG surfactants. We discuss the results in the context of the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) concept, which we modified so that IFT values are discussed instead of phase behavior.

The hydrophobicity of silicone-based oils and surfactants and their use in reactive microemulsions

In this work, for the first time, the Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Difference (HLD) framework for microemulsion formulation has been applied to silicone oils and silicone alkyl polyether surfactants. Based on the HLD equations and recently introduced mixing rules, we have quantified the hydrophobicity of the oils according to the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN). We have found that, in a reference system containing sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate (SDHS) as the surfactant, 0.65 centistoke (cSt) and 3.0 cSt silicone oils behave like n-dodecane and n-pentadecane, respectively. Silicone alkyl polyether surfactants were found to have characteristic curvatures ranging 3.4-18.9, exceeding that of most non-ionic surfactants. The introduction of methacrylic acid (MAA) and hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) to the aqueous phase caused a significant negative shift in HLD, indicative of an aqueous phase that is less hydrophilic than pure water. The more hydrophobic surfactants (largest positive curvatures) were used in order to compensate for this effect. These findings have led to the formulation of bicontinuous microemulsions (μEs) containing silicone oil, silicone alkyl polyether and reactive monomers in aqueous solution. Ternary phase diagrams of these systems revealed the potential for silicone-containing polymer composites with bicontinuous morphologies. These findings have also helped to explain the phase behavior of formulations previously reported in literature, and could help in providing a systematic, consistent approach to future silicone oil based microemulsion formulation.

A QSPR model for the prediction of the "fish-tail" temperature of C(i)E4/water/polar hydrocarbon oil systems

The fish-tail temperatures denoted as T* have been determined or collected for 85 ternary systems based on three tetraethylene glycol monoalkyl ethers C(i)E(4) (i = 6, 8, 10), water, and 43 hydrocarbon oils of various hydrophobicities. Fourteen fragrant mono- and sesquiterpenes in addition to 29 model oils, including n-alkanes, cyclohexenes, cyclohexanes, and alkylbenzenes, were investigated in order to establish a QSPR model for the prediction of T* as a function of the chemical structure of the oils. Only two molecular descriptors related to branching and molecular size (Kier A3) and polarizability (average negative softness) of the molecules are necessary to model and predict the values of T* and EACN (equivalent alkane carbon number) of unsaturated and/or cyclic and/or branched hydrocarbons exhibiting an EACN ranging from -4 and +35. Results are discussed in terms of evolution of the effective packing parameter of the surfactants according to temperature and oil penetration into the interfacial film.

Evaluating the hydrophilic-lipophilic nature of asphaltenic oils and naphthenic amphiphiles using microemulsion models

Asphaltenes and naphthenic acid derivatives, which are polar and surface-active species, are known to interfere with the recovery of heavy crude oil by promoting the formation of stable emulsions. In this study, previously established microemulsion phase behavior models were applied to quantify the hydrophilic-lipophilic nature of asphaltenic oils (bitumen, deasphalted bitumen, asphalt, naphthalene) and surface-active species found in heavy oils (naphthenic compounds and asphaltenes). For the test oils, the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN) was determined by evaluating the "salinity shifts" of microemulsions formulated with a reference surfactant (sodium dihexyl sulfosuccinate--SDHS) and a reference oil (toluene) as a function of test oil volume fraction. Similarly, the characteristic curvature (C(C)) of surface-active species was determined by evaluating the salinity shifts as a function of the molar fraction of the surface-active species in mixture with SDHS. As a part of the oil phase, asphaltenes and asphaltene-like species are highly hydrophilic, which lead to low EACN values despite their large molecular weight. As a surface-active material, asphaltenes are hydrophobic species that lead to the formation of water-in-oil emulsions. Naphthenates, particularly sodium naphthenates, are highly hydrophilic compounds that lead to the formation of oil-in-water emulsions. These hydrophilic-lipophilic characterization parameters, and the methods used to determine them, can be used in the future to understand the phase behavior of complex oil-water systems.

Hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) method for characterizing conventional and extended surfactants

An accurate determination of the hydrophilic-lipophilic nature of surfactants plays an essential role in guiding the formulation of microemulsion with the goal of achieving low interfacial tension (IFT) and high solubilization. While several empirical models have been proposed as simple tools for predicting surfactant characteristics and microemulsion conditions, only a few of these models are fundamentally based yet convenient to use. In this work, the hydrophilic-lipophilic deviation (HLD) approach was used with mixed surfactant systems to determine the surfactant characteristic (sigma) and the sigmaK parameter of conventional and extended surfactants. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the HLD index has been used to represent the hydrophilic-lipophilic behavior of extended surfactants. It was observed that inserting PO and/or EO groups in extended surfactants play a key role in altering sigma values and sigmaK values. Finally, the sigma parameters found in this work were combined with the HLD equation and used to demonstrate its practical utility for guiding the optimum formulation (in this case, optimum salinity) for a microemulsion system.

The EACN scale for oil classification revisited thanks to fish diagrams

The phase behavior of C(10)E(4)-oil-water systems at constant o/w ratio and variable temperature (fish diagram) has been investigated for several homologous oil families. The temperature T( *) and surfactant concentration C( *) at the critical point were determined for 10 n-alkanes varying from C(6) to C(28) as well as for a series of alkylcyclohexanes and alkylbenzenes. On the basis of T( *), equivalent alkane carbon numbers (EACN) were assigned to nonlinear alkanes, alkylbenzenes, and alkylcyclohexanes. The consistency of the method was shown by corroborating that the EACN values of oils previously investigated with other C(i)E(j) (dibutyl ether, squalane, isopropyl myristate, and dodecylbenzene) are the same when determined with C(10)E(4). The fact that two oils of different nature but with the same EACN (i.e., the same T( *)) do not exhibit the same C( *) is discussed in terms of monomeric solubility of the surfactant in the oil (CMC(oil)).