Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science最新文献

{"title":"Colloidal properties of milk and plant-based milk alternatives: A structural perspective","authors":"Yinxuan Hu,&nbsp;Alejandra Acevedo-Fani,&nbsp;Harjinder Singh,&nbsp;Aiqian Ye","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant-based milk alternatives (PMAs) are less nutritious and more difficult to standardise than dairy milk. Their low colloidal stability is one of the major challenges hindering efforts to enhance their nutritional value by increasing components such as protein and lipids. This property often leads to undesirable phenomena such as phase separation, sedimentation, and creaming, all of which affect product acceptability, manufacturing processes, and even digestibility. This article outlines the colloidal properties and structural characteristics of protein particles and fat globules/oil droplets in both cow milk and PMAs, highlighting the differences in their behaviours during processing and digestion. It also presents strategies to formulate PMAs with colloidal properties that more closely resemble those of cow milk, particularly in terms of stability under processing conditions. Finally, it proposes the use of hybrid protein particles containing a combination of plant and milk proteins, which exhibit unique structural features, improved functional properties, and distinct digestion behaviours, to improve PMA characteristics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101966"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Artificial intelligence in colloid and interface science: Current research, challenges and future directions","authors":"Simha Sridharan ,&nbsp;Tom Bailey ,&nbsp;Agnese Marcato ,&nbsp;Elena Simone ,&nbsp;Nicholas Watson","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101965","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101965","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Artificial intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML) are transforming colloid and interface science by enabling predictive modelling, autonomous experimentation, and accelerated material design. This review highlights recent advances organised in four topics: (1) prediction of basic physical properties; (2) image analysis; (3) process design, monitoring and optimisation; and (4) morphology and phase behaviour prediction. AI models have improved the prediction accuracy of interfacial tension, critical micelle concentration, foam stability, and complex structure–function relationships, in particular, integrated generative AI approaches support the design of new surfactants and emulsifiers. Image analysis has automated microstructural characterisation and enabled real-time quality control, while AI-enhanced process design has delivered digital twins, closed-loop optimisation, and sustainability-oriented workflows. Morphology and phase behaviour prediction has combined simulation-driven neural networks with generative approaches to accelerate material discovery. The future of AI applications in colloids will be shaped by experimental database design and standardisation, hybrid AI methods integrating physics and surrogate modelling, and AI agents leveraging large language models for literature mining, data curation, and experimental optimisation. Together, these developments promise to establish data-rich, physics informed, and increasingly autonomous research ecosystems for colloids and interface science, accelerating material understanding and design.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101965"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advancements in essential oil-based emulsions: Eco-friendly alternatives to conventional agrochemicals","authors":"Amit Kumar ,&nbsp;S.K. Mehta","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101964","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101964","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conventional agrochemicals are effective but raise concerns about toxicity, persistence, and environmental safety. Essential oils (EOs), owing to their inherent antimicrobial, insecticidal, and antioxidant properties, have emerged as natural alternatives; however, their high volatility and instability limit direct application. Emulsion-based delivery systems, particularly nanoemulsions (NEms) and Pickering emulsions (PEms), provide effective strategies for stabilising and controlling the release of EOs. This review highlights recent advances in EO emulsions, emphasising plant-based surfactants, biosurfactants, and nanoparticles as green stabilisers, alone or in synergy with conventional emulsifiers. Theoretical aspects of colloidal stability, mechanisms of destabilisation, and the role of electrostatic, steric, and non-DLVO forces are discussed. Applications of EO emulsions as agrochemicals are presented, focusing on their improved wettability, adhesion, washing resistance, and sustained release. Finally, current challenges in large-scale production, regulatory standardisation, and field-level validation are outlined and provide future perspectives on establishing EO emulsions as sustainable next-generation agrochemicals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101964"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145263032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nanobubbles to create enhanced functionalities of food-related products","authors":"Khanh Phan ,&nbsp;Bhesh Bhandari","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101955","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Together with the development of nanotechnology, roles and applications of food-grade nanobubbles (NBs) have rapidly evolved in the food field. NBs are known as ultrafine gas bubbles with a diameter less than 1 μm. Owing to unique features, such as an extremely tiny in size, outstanding stability, high internal pressure and an extensive surface-to-volume ratio, NBs can significantly facilitate various food processes and related products, as well as enhance food safety and functionalities. There are factors such as gas pressure, temperature, surfactants, electrolytes, gas type, and concentration that impact the formation and stability of NBs in the liquid system. This review article discusses the general concept of bulk-gas NBs, their colloidal stability and other exceptional characteristics relevant to feasible food applications. A special focus is on promising potentials and underlying mechanisms of using NBs to enhance functionalities of food related products. Challenges and future perspectives of comprising NBs in food production are also briefly discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101955"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145026336","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advances in high-temperature microemulsions","authors":"Wenjing Chang ,&nbsp;Ke Du ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Li,&nbsp;Yuanchao Pei,&nbsp;Jianji Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101954","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101954","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Designing microemulsions for high-temperature stability remains a critical challenge in colloid science. This review highlights the effects of temperature on interfacial curvature and phase behavior, and proposes two strategies for the design of high-temperature microemulsions: (1) Advanced formulations using high-boiling-point solvents and thermally robust surfactants; (2) Ionic liquids (ILs) as multifunctional components, which enable microemulsions with unprecedented thermal stability. Notably, all-IL systems achieve stability up to 200 °C under ambient pressure while maintaining their nanoscale structure, as evidenced by <em>in situ</em> SAXS and cryo-TEM analysis. Applications in enhanced oil recovery, nanomaterial synthesis, and high-temperature nanoreactors are highlighted. Finally, future research directions are proposed, including the advanced structural characterization techniques, the development of green surfactant, the design of new-generation ILs, and the exploration of emerging research fields. This work provides a comprehensive roadmap for extending microemulsion functionality to extreme thermal environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101954"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145005032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Leveraging fat structuration for enhanced taste, nutrition, and sustainability","authors":"Olivier Schafer ,&nbsp;Antoine Cros ,&nbsp;Laurent Sagalowicz","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101953","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101953","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Historically, intake of fats and oils has been targeted for reduction in food products due to health concerns. However, recent understanding emphasizes the essential role of lipids as nutrients that provide energy, essential fatty acids, and vitamins. The food industry faces challenges in developing products that are nutritionally optimal, environmentally sustainable, and sensory-appealing. The World Health Organization recommends reducing the consumption of saturated fatty acids (SFAs). The production of oils rich in SFAs is often linked to ecological concerns, including greenhouse gas emissions and deforestation.</div><div>Despite these challenges, SFA-rich oils offer technical advantages in food production, such as being solid and structuring food at room temperature and their resistance to oxidation. This opinion paper analyzes strategies to leverage lipid nutrition by reducing SFAs in food products while preserving sensory attributes. Those include the control of fat crystallization, oleogels (‘gelled’ liquid oils) formation, foams stabilized by lipids, and emulsion gels. A strong emphasis on consumer perception, industrial feasibility, regulatory aspects, cost and sustainability in the food industry is given.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101953"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145026335","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recent advances in interfacial liquid–liquid oxidation in emulsions and microemulsions with surface-active molecular and nanoparticulate catalysts","authors":"Elliot Borne,&nbsp;Jean-Marie Aubry,&nbsp;Véronique Nardello-Rataj","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101952","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101952","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This review presents recent advances in catalytic oxidations performed in emulsified biphasic systems using primary oxidants (O₂, H₂O_2, and <em>t</em>-BuOOH) mediated by surface-active molecular or nanoparticulate catalysts. Emphasis is placed on the activation of these sustainable oxidants by redox catalysts compatible with aqueous biphasic environments. A distinctive feature of this review is its colloid-focused perspective, examining how the formulation and composition of surface-active catalyst/oil/water systems drives emulsion morphology, droplet size, demixing kinetics, and ultimately the ease of product recovery and catalyst recycling. Particular attention is given to the design of redox-active amphiphiles, which enhance interfacial coverage and facilitate (nano)emulsification. Three classes of systems are considered: (<em>i</em>) systems using separate phase-transfer agents (PTAs) and redox catalysts; (<em>ii</em>) integrated systems involving catalytic surfactants or catalytic ionic liquids (CILs) that combine interfacial and redox functions within a single species; and (<em>iii</em>) amphiphilic nanoparticles that adsorb at the oil–water interface, serving as both emulsion stabilizers (the so-called Pickering emulsions) and oxidation catalysts. A dedicated section addresses the challenge of chemically generated singlet oxygen (¹O₂) in organic synthesis. Due to its short lifetime in water (≈4 μs), ¹O₂ must be generated in aqueous nanodroplets of a microemulsion system to ensure its diffusion into the organic phase before deactivation occurs. Recent innovations in Pickering interfacial catalysis (PIC) highlight that particle-based systems are becoming increasingly elaborated, both for controlling the physicochemical properties of the emulsion and for enhancing catalytic performance. However, several challenges still remain to be overcome before they can be scaled up for industrial applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101952"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145020847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Editorial on sufactants","authors":"Rico F. Tabor,&nbsp;Yilin Wang,&nbsp;Romain Bordes","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101950","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101950","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"80 ","pages":"Article 101950"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145046996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inverse nanoemulsions in particle fabrication","authors":"Rafael Muñoz-Espí,&nbsp;Inés Adam-Cervera,&nbsp;Luis Fernando Jiménez-Hernández","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101951","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101951","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nanoemulsions have emerged as highly versatile platforms for the synthesis of functional nanoparticles, offering nanoconfined environments that enable fine control over particle size, composition, and morphology. While traditionally used in fields such as food, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, their role in materials chemistry—particularly in the fabrication of organic, inorganic, and hybrid nanoparticles—has seen significant expansion in recent years. This review focuses specifically on inverse nanoemulsions, in which polar droplets are dispersed in an apolar continuous phase, as media for the controlled formation of nanostructured materials. We present an overview of recent developments from the last few years, organized around three main synthetic strategies: (i) the incorporation of all precursors into a single emulsion, (ii) the external addition of a reactive component to an existing emulsion of a precursor, and (iii) the fusion of two distinct emulsions, each carrying complementary reactants. These methodologies are discussed in terms of their mechanisms, advantages, and applicability to diverse material systems, with particular emphasis on advanced functional materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"79 ","pages":"Article 101951"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144895480","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pickering water-in-water emulsions: A review on their rheological and tribological performance","authors":"Chenxi Wang ,&nbsp;Brent S. Murray ,&nbsp;Michael Bryant ,&nbsp;Anwesha Sarkar","doi":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101940","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cocis.2025.101940","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pickering water-in-water (W/W) emulsions have attracted renewed research attention owing to the recent discovery of their aqueous lubrication performance. We cover the current knowledge of Pickering W/W emulsions regarding their rheological and tribological performance. Particularly, we examine the recent advances that have surfaced in the literature in the last five years, highlighting how the two phases and the Pickering particles affect the rheological properties and microstructural evolution of W/W emulsions when subjected to various degrees of shear stresses. We postulate how biolubrication performance of Pickering W/W emulsions can be altered by formulation engineering of the water droplets to offer fluid film lubrication while the particles providing boundary lubrication. This review therefore offers a stepping stone in highlighting the requirement of systematic experimental studies and rational design of the next-generation Pickering W/W emulsions for them to act as effective aqueous lubricants for a range of biomedical and allied applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":293,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Colloid & Interface Science","volume":"79 ","pages":"Article 101940"},"PeriodicalIF":7.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144780649","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}