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Bioinspired Viscoelastic Capsules: Delivery Vehicles and Beyond
Author(s) -
Etienne Gianluca,
Ong Irvine Lian Hao,
Amstad Esther
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
advanced materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.707
H-Index - 527
eISSN - 1521-4095
pISSN - 0935-9648
DOI - 10.1002/adma.201808233
Subject(s) - materials science , viscoelasticity , emulsion , flexibility (engineering) , nanotechnology , composite material , copolymer , soft materials , reagent , self healing , chemical engineering , polymer , statistics , mathematics , engineering , medicine , chemistry , alternative medicine , pathology
Microcapsules are often used as individually dispersed carriers of active ingredients to prolong their shelf life or to protect premature reactions with substances contained in the surrounding. This study goes beyond this application and employs microcapsules as principal building blocks of macroscopic 3D materials with well‐defined granular structures. To achieve this goal and inspired by nature, capsules are fabricated from block‐copolymer surfactants that are functionalized with catechols, a metal‐coordinating motive. These surfactants self‐assemble at the surface of emulsion drops where they are ionically cross‐linked to form viscoelastic capsules that display a low permeability even toward small encapsulants. It is demonstrated that the combination of the mechanical strength, flexibility, and stickiness of the capsules enables their additive manufacturing into macroscopic granular structures. Thereby, they open up new opportunities for 3D printing of soft, self‐healing materials composed of individual compartments that can be functionalized with different types of spatially separated reagents.