title: The Cushion Method: A New Technique for the Recovery of Hydrophilic Nanocarriers.
abstract: Microencapsulation of hydrophilic therapeutic agents such as proteins or nucleotides into a nanocarrier is frequently accomplished in inverse (water-in-oil) emulsions. However, the redispersion of the nanocarriers in aqueous media often involves a complicated purification process, and the redispersion usually requires additional surfactants for its colloidal stability, which is not favored for biological applications. We propose a simple, fast, and mild method to recover hydrophilic nanocarriers prepared in inverse emulsions by temporary coating of the nanocarriers with biocompatible small molecules, so that the final aqueous dispersion of the nanocarriers can be dispersed with high recovery rate, minimal aggregation, and no additional surfactants. Such a method is termed the "cushion method" and was adopted in the preparation of chitosan nanocarriers. The nanocarriers recovered with the cushion method release encapsulated peptides in a pH-responsive manner and do not require surfactants for colloidal stabilization.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Graf
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vieth
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ziener
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Landfester
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany.|Department of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Molecular Science and Engineering, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) , Rayong 21210, Thailand.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crespy