Preparation and characterization of narrow sized (o/w) magnetic emulsion

The preparation of well-defined (o/w) magnetic emulsions from an organic ferrofluid is reported. The ferrofluid synthesis is first described and a complete characterization is achieved by using numerous techniques. The ferrofluid is found to be composed of superparamagnetic maghemite nanoparticles, with a diameter below 10 nm, stabilized in octane by a surrounding oleic acid layer. This magnetic fluid is then emulsified in aqueous media in order to obtain stable ferrofluid droplets. The use of a couette mixer and a size sorting step under magnetic field allowed to produce magnetic emulsion with a narrow size distribution. Morphology and chemical composition of the magnetic emulsion are investigated. Magnetic properties of both ferrofluid and magnetic emulsion are also compared and discussed. In particular, it is showed that the superparamagnetic behavior is still observed after the emulsification process. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.