title: Soft microcapsules with highly plastic shells formed by interfacial polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle complexation.
abstract: Composite microcapsules have been aggressively pursued as designed chemical entities for biomedical and other applications. Common preparations rely on multi-step, time consuming processes. Here, we present a single-step approach to fabricate such microcapsules with shells composed of nanoparticle-polyelectrolyte and protein-polyelectrolyte complexes, and demonstrate control of the mechanical and release properties of these constructs. Interfacial polyelectrolyte-nanoparticle and polyelectrolyte-protein complexation across a water-oil droplet interface results in the formation of capsules with shell thicknesses of a few μm. Silica shell microcapsules exhibited a significant plastic response at small deformations, whereas lysozyme incorporated shells displayed a more elastic response. We exploit the plasticity of nanoparticle incorporated shells to produce microcapsules with high aspect ratio protrusions by micropipette aspiration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Chinedum.Osuji@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Gilad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.forename: Siamak
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nejati
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sarfati
authors.forename: Rostislav
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boltyanskiy
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Loewenberg
authors.forename: Eric R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Dufresne
authors.forename: Chinedum O
authors.initials: CO
authors.lastname: Osuji
mesh_terms: D000586:Amination; D000818:Animals; D002214:Capsules / Q000737:chemistry*; D004339:Drug Compounding; D004548:Elasticity; D004573:Electrolytes / Q000737:chemistry*; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009113:Muramidase / Q000008:administration & dosage; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002214:Capsules; D004573:Electrolytes; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D009113:Muramidase; D016650:Fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate