Miniemulsion

A miniemulsion (also known as a nanoemulsion) is a particular type of emulsion which is obtained by applying high shear to a mixture comprising two immiscible liquid phases (for example oil and water), one or more surfactants and, possibly, one or more co-surfactants (typical examples are hexadecane or cetyl alcohol). They usually have nanodroplets with uniform size distribution (20–500 nm) and are also known as sub-micron, mini-, and ultra-fine grain emulsions.

Nanoemulsification is the process of emulsification in the nanoscale.

Schematic illustration of nanoemulsion structure, including the biphasic systems (O/W or W/O), in which an appropriate volume of the internal oil phase is disseminated in the bulk aqueous solution or vice versa; and the multiple systems (W/O/W or O/W/O), within a single system, the inner water phase is dispersed in an oil phase, which is then dispersed in a bulk aqueous phase or vice versa.