A PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL FOR THE SURFACTANT INTERFACIAL CONFIGURATIONIN A CONCENTRATED PARENTERAL FLUOROCARBON EMULSION

40% V/V Bis(Perfluorobutyl)ethene (F44E) emulsions were manufactured u sing 1-6% W/V purified egg-yolk lecithin (EYL) as emulsifier. Knowing the surfactant molecular cross sectional area, the volume of the disco ntinuous phase and the amount of surfactant adsorbed at the interface as a function of its concentration in the emulsion, the theoretical su rface volume diameter, D, for either a mono or a bilayer for different EYL concentrations in the emulsions were calculated. These were compa red with experimentally determined droplet diameters obtained from cen trifugal sedimentation followed by densitometry. Within the parameters used in this study, the results suggest the existence of an anisotrop ic interfacial film around the F44E droplets whose saturation is emuls ifier concentration dependant.