Pickering emulsions have received widespread attention for encapsulating lipophilic guests in the biomedical and food fields. However, control of the stabilities and demulsification of Pickering emulsions to allow the release of encapsulated species remains a challenge in gastrointestinal conditions. In this work, phosphatidylcholine-kaolinite was prepared by modification of natural kaolinite with phosphatidylcholine and was used as an emulsifier to stabilize medium-chain triglyceride (MCT)/water Pickering emulsions for encapsulating curcumin, a natural antioxidant drug. Simulated gastric and intestinal digestion and a cell uptake assay were implemented for the curcumin-loaded MCT/water Pickering emulsion to study its demulsification and the bioavailability of curcumin. The results revealed that the wettability of phosphatidylcholine-kaolinite could be tailored by controlling the modification temperature so that it could control the emulsion stability. The prepared phosphatidylcholine-kaolinite, with a three-phase contact angle of 123°, was an optimal emulsifier for the enhanced stabilization of the MCT/water Pickering emulsion, especially in the presence of gastric acid. The phosphatidylcholine-kaolinite distributed at the water-oil interface and formed a dense shell structure on the surfaces of the emulsion droplets, controlling the demulsification efficiency to release the encapsulated curcumin. Only 18.9% of the curcumin was released in the simulated gastric conditions after 120 min of digestion due to the demulsification of the MCT/water Pickering emulsion, while it was completely released after 150 min of digestion in simulated intestinal conditions, as expected. This Pickering emulsion stabilized by phosphatidylcholine-kaolinite is a promising delivery system for lipophilic foods or drugs to enhance their bioavailability.

Pickering乳剂在生物医学和食品领域中将亲脂性客体包裹起来，因此受到了广泛的关注。然而，在胃肠道条件下，控制Pickering乳液的稳定性和破乳以允许释放包封的物质仍然是一个挑战。在这项工作中，磷脂酰胆碱-高岭石是通过用磷脂酰胆碱改性天然高岭石制备的，并用作乳化剂来稳定中链甘油三酸酯（MCT）/水Pickering乳液，用于封装天然抗氧化剂姜黄素。对载有姜黄素的MCT /水Pickering乳液进行了模拟的胃和肠消化以及细胞摄取测定，以研究其破乳和姜黄素的生物利用度。结果表明，可以通过控制改性温度来调节磷脂酰胆碱-高岭石的润湿性，从而可以控制乳液的稳定性。所制备的磷脂酰胆碱-高岭石的三相接触角为123°，是增强MCT /水Pickering乳液稳定性的最佳乳化剂，特别是在胃酸存在的情况下。磷脂酰胆碱-高岭石分布在水-油界面处，并在乳液小滴的表面上形成致密的壳结构，控制破乳效率以释放包封的姜黄素。由于MCT /水Pickering乳液的破乳作用，在120分钟的消化后模拟的胃部条件下仅释放了18.9％的姜黄素，而在模拟肠道条件下消化150分钟后，它便完全释放了，正如预期的那样。这种由磷脂酰胆碱-高岭石稳定的Pickering乳剂是一种用于脂溶性食品或药物以提高其生物利用度的有前途的输送系统。