Small has published a paper entitled „Spontaneous Fusion of Core-Shell Nanocapsules with Oil Cores and Oppositely Charged Polysaccharide Shells”, by members of the Nanotechnology of Polymers and Biomaterials Group: Dr. Joanna Odrobińska-Baliś (former PhD student; now: Jerzy Haber Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry PAS), Prof. Tomasz Uchacz, Aneta Medaj, Prof. Szczepan Zapotoczny. The research results also from cooperation with: Dr. Piotr Banachowicz from JU Faculty of Chemistry and Dr. Elżbieta Gumieniczek–Chłopek from AGH University Faculty of Physics and Applied Computer Science.
Polymer nanocapsules with hydrophobic cores are promising candidates for nanoreactors to conduct (bio)chemical reactions mimicking the performance of natural cellular systems. Their architecture allows reagents to be encapsulated in the cores, enabling reactions to proceed in confined environments in a controlled and efficient manner. Polysaccharide-shell oil-core nanocapsules are proposed here as facile mergeable nanoreactors. Spontaneous fusion of oppositely charged polysaccharide capsules is demonstrated for the first time. Such capsules are formed and quickly loaded with reagents by nanoemulsification of an aqueous solution of hydrophobically modified polysaccharides (chitosan, hyaluronate) and oleic acid with dissolved desired hydrophobic compounds. Efficient fusion of the formed nanocapsules dispersed in an aqueous medium at optimized conditions (pH, ionic strength) is followed using fluorescence microscopy by labeling their cores and shells with fluorescent dyes. As a proof of concept, a model fluorogenic synthesis is also realized by fusing the capsules containing separated reagents and the catalyst. The nanocapsules and fusion process developed here establish a platform for realizing versatile reactions in a confined environment, including model studies on biologically relevant processes in natural systems.
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