The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word COLLOIDS
C
O
L
L
O
I
D
S
Buddy explains!

The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does COLLOIDS mean?
COLLOIDS noun- A stable system of two phases, one of which is dispersed in the other in the form of very small droplets or particles.
- An intimate mixture of two substances one of which, called the dispersed phase (or colloid), is uniformly distributed in a finely divided state throughout the second substance, called the dispersion medium (or dispersing medium).
- A particle less than 1 micron in diameter, following the Wentworth scale