Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430074 China.
Langmuir. 2011 Aug 16;27(16):10265-73. doi: 10.1021/la201944s. Epub 2011 Jul 18.
A detailed study on the direct synthesis of biocompatible polyesters (e.g., PLA, PLGA or PCL) microcapsules and multifunctional microcapsules, which does not require any template and core removal, is presented. The technique is based on the modified self-emulsification process within the emulsion droplets by simply adding sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (Aerosol OT or AOT) as a cosurfactant to the initial polymer solution, followed by double emulsion formation due to the coalescence of the internal water droplets. Microcapsules with tunable sizes (ranging from hundreds of nanometers to tens of micrometers) and morphologies were then obtained through solidification of droplet shell of the double emulsion via solvent removal. In this report, we have systematically investigated the effect of experimental parameters, such as polymer and AOT concentration, polymer molecular weight on the double emulsion formation process, and the final morphologies of the microcapsules. We demonstrate that the capsules can encapsulate either hydrophobic or hydrophilic dyes during solvent evaporation. Dye-release studies show a correlation between shell thickness, capsules size, and diffusive release rate, providing insights into the shell formation and shell thickness processing. Moreover, hydrophobic nanoparticles, such as oleic-acid coated Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles and quantum dots, can also be incorporated into the walls of the microcapsules. Such functional microcapsules might find applications in the fields of controlled release, bioimaging, diagnostics, and targeting.
本文介绍了一种无需模板和核去除的直接合成生物相容性聚酯（如 PLA、PLGA 或 PCL）微胶囊和多功能微胶囊的详细研究。该技术基于在乳液滴内通过简单地将双辛基磺基琥珀酸钠（Aerosol OT 或 AOT）作为助表面活性剂添加到初始聚合物溶液中，来修改乳液滴内的自乳化过程，随后由于内部水滴的聚结而形成双乳液。通过除去双乳液的液滴壳的溶剂凝固，可以获得具有可调节尺寸（从数百纳米到数十微米）和形态的微胶囊。在本报告中，我们系统地研究了实验参数（如聚合物和 AOT 浓度、聚合物分子量）对双乳液形成过程和微胶囊最终形态的影响。我们证明了在溶剂蒸发过程中胶囊可以包封疏水性或亲水性染料。染料释放研究表明壳厚度、胶囊尺寸和扩散释放速率之间存在相关性，为壳形成和壳厚度处理提供了深入的了解。此外，还可以将疏水性纳米粒子（如油酸包覆的 Fe(3)O(4)纳米粒子和量子点）掺入微胶囊壁中。这种功能性微胶囊可能在控制释放、生物成像、诊断和靶向等领域得到应用。
