Stability study of W/O/W viscosified multiple emulsions

Stable multiple emulsions with a small proportion of primary emulsion containing different viscosifying agents in the outer aqueous phase were formulated. The multiple systems were assessed by evaluating several parameters, such as the macroscopic aspect, droplet size, release rate, and accelerated stability under elevated temperatures. The effect of different viscosifying agents at different concentrations on the stability and the multiplicity of the multiple emulsions was examined. The viscosity increased by increasing the concentration of the viscosifying agents. It also appeared that the viscosifying agents increased the temperature stability of the multiple emulsions. As a result, the formulation viscosified with Klucel was more stable, while the one prepared with carbomer viscosified the outer phase at much lower concentrations with much better skin feel.