pH-responsive liposome-templated polyelectrolyte nanocapsules

Hollow nanocapsules made of polyelectrolytes, extensively useful for biomedical and biotechnological applications, are produced with a simple Layer-by-Layer approach using liposomes as template. The biocompatible polymers, alginate and chitosan, are alternatively adsorbed onto liposomes allowing the achievement of small size hollow nanocapsules with an average diameter of similar to 280 nm. Hollow nanocapsules, positively as well as negatively charged, depending on the number of layers, can be produced in a reproducible way. The produced nanocapsules are demonstrated to be sensitive to pH changes of the environment because of the behaviour of the polyelectrolytes composing the multishell walls; in fact they exhibit major variations in size depending on the bulk solution pH. Measurements of dynamic light scattering (DLS) and of zeta-potentials as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations demonstrate a correlation between the pH and the shrinking/swelling of the nanocapsules. While nanocapsules having chitosan as outer layer are stable only at acidic pH, nanocapsules having alginate as outer layer remain stable at all the pHs used in this study (pH 4.6 to 8). The pH-optimum for the shrinking event is in the acidic range. The role of both the polymers in the shrinking/swelling event is demonstrated by comparing nanocapsule populations with alginate (7 layers) or chitosan (8 layers) as the outer layer.

Lopez, Francesco (author)
Ceglie, Andrea (author)
Maiuro, Lucia (author)
Miguel, Maria G. (author)
Lindman, BjörnLund University,Lunds universitet,Fysikalisk kemi,Enheten för fysikalisk och teoretisk kemi,Kemiska institutionen,Institutioner vid LTH,Lunds Tekniska Högskola,Physical Chemistry,Physical and theoretical chemistry,Department of Chemistry,Departments at LTH,Faculty of Engineering, LTH(Swepub:lu)fk1-bli (author)
Fysikalisk kemiEnheten för fysikalisk och teoretisk kemi (creator_code:org_t)

In:Soft Matter: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)8:16, s. 4415-44201744-68481744-683X

By the author/editor: Cuomo, Francesca; Lopez, Francesco; Ceglie, Andrea; Maiuro, Lucia; Miguel, Maria G.; Lindman, Björn

About the subject

NATURAL SCIENCES: NATURAL SCIENCES; and Chemical Science ...; and Physical Chemist ...

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