A Methodology for Multivariate Investigation on the Effect of Acrylate Molecular Structure on the Mechanical Properties and Delivery Efficiency of Microcapsules via In Situ Polymerization.

In the field of encapsulation, microcapsules containing perfume have emerged as effective vehicles for delivering active ingredients across various applications. The present study employed a multivariate analysis framework to examine polyacrylate microcapsules for household products synthesized using different acrylate monomers. The advanced multivariate approach allowed us to quantify critical properties such as the (), mechanical attributes, (), and .

Nanostructured bio-based castor oil organogels for the cleaning of artworks.

Hypothesis: Organic solvents are often used for cleaning highly water-sensitive artifacts in modern/contemporary art. Due to the toxicity of most solvents, confining systems must be formulated to use these fluids in a safe and controlled way. We propose here castor oil (CO) organogels, obtained thorough cost-effective sustainable polyurethane crosslinking.

Self-Assembly of Soluplus in Aqueous Solutions: Characterization and Prospectives on Perfume Encapsulation.

Soluplus is an amphiphilic graft copolymer intensively studied as a micellar solubilizer for drugs. An extensive characterization of the nanostructure of its colloidal aggregates is still lacking. Here, we provide insights into the polymer's self-assembly in water, and we assess its use as an encapsulating agent for fragrances.

Liquid-liquid phase separated microdomains of an amphiphilic graft copolymer in a surfactant-rich medium.

The liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) of amphiphilic thermoresponsive copolymers can lead to the formation of micron-sized domains, known as simple coacervates. Due to their potential to confine active principles, these copolymer-rich droplets have gained interest as encapsulating agents. Understanding and controlling the conditions inducing this LLPS is therefore essential for applicative purposes and requires thorough fundamental studies on self-coacervation.

Understanding the self-assembly of the polymeric drug solubilizer Soluplus®.

Hypothesis: Soluplus® is one of the most widely used amphiphilic copolymers in drug delivery and has been reported to strongly enhance the adsorption of model drugs. However, there is still a limited understanding of its micellar behavior as it responds to the different routes of administration, which involve important changes in concentration.

Experiments: The microstructure of Soluplus aqueous solutions has been investigated at a wide range of polymer concentrations (2 × 10 - 0.

Rational Design of Sustainable Liquid Microcapsules for Spontaneous Fragrance Encapsulation.

The high volatility, water-immiscibility, and light/oxygen-sensitivity of most aroma compounds represent a challenge to their incorporation in liquid consumer products. Current encapsulation methods entail the use of petroleum-based materials, initiators, and crosslinkers as well as mixing, heating, and purification steps. Hence, more efficient and eco-friendly approaches to encapsulation must be sought.

Tuning the Encapsulation of Simple Fragrances with an Amphiphilic Graft Copolymer.

The encapsulation of poorly water-soluble compounds such as perfumes, flavors, and bioactive molecules is a key step in the formulation of a large variety of consumer products in the fields of household care and personal care. We study the encapsulation ability of an amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)--poly(vinyl acetate) (PEG--PVAc) graft copolymer, extending the focus to the entire phase diagram of polymer/perfume/water systems with three common natural fragrances. The three perfume molecules (2-phenyl ethanol, L-carvone, and α-pinene) possess different water affinities, as expressed by their octanol/water partition coefficients.

Liquid-liquid phase separation of polymeric microdomains with tunable inner morphology: Mechanistic insights and applications.

Hypothesis: Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) can provide micron-sized liquid compartments dispersed in an aqueous medium. This phenomenon is increasingly appreciated in natural systems, e.g.

Associative properties of poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(vinyl acetate) comb-like graft copolymers in water.

The self-assembly of amphiphilic graft copolymers is generally reported for polymer melts or polymers deposited onto surfaces, while a small number of cases deal with binary mixtures with water. We report on the associative properties of poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(vinyl acetate) (PEG-g-PVAc) comb-like copolymers in water, demonstrating the existence of a percolative behaviour when increasing the PEG-g-PVAc content. Rheology, light- and small-angle X-ray scattering experiments, together with dissipative particle dynamics simulations, reveal a progressive transition from spherical polymer single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) towards hierarchically complex structures as the weight fraction of the polymer in water increases.

Layer-By-Layer Self-Assembly of Polyelectrolytic Block Copolymer Worms on a Planar Substrate.

Cationic and anionic block copolymer worms are prepared by polymerization-induced self-assembly via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) aqueous dispersion copolymerization of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate (GlyMA), using a binary mixture of a nonionic poly(ethylene oxide) macromolecular RAFT agent and either a cationic poly([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride) or an anionic poly(potassium 3-sulfopropyl methacrylate) macromolecular RAFT agent. In each case, covalent stabilization of the worm cores was achieved via reaction of the epoxide groups on the GlyMA repeat units with 3-mercaptopropyltriethoxysilane. Aqueous electrophoresis studies indicated a pH-independent mean zeta potential of +40 mV and -39 mV for the cationic and anionic copolymer worms, respectively.

Cross-linked cationic diblock copolymer worms are superflocculants for micrometer-sized silica particles.

A series of linear cationic diblock copolymer nanoparticles are prepared by polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) aqueous dispersion polymerization of 2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate (HPMA) using a binary mixture of non-ionic and cationic macromolecular RAFT agents, namely poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO, = 4400 g mol; / = 1.08) and poly([2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride) (PQDMA, = 31 800 g mol, / = 1.19).

Poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(vinyl acetate) single-chain nanoparticles for the encapsulation of small molecules.

Amphiphilic poly(ethylene glycol)-graft-poly(vinyl acetate) copolymers with a low degree of grafting undergo self-folding in water driven by hydrophobic interactions, resulting in single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) possessing a hydrodynamic radius of about 10 nm. A temperature scan revealed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST)-type phase behavior. In addition, SAXS data collected close to the LCST showed that these SCNPs aggregate into one-dimensional elongated objects, preferentially.

Inorganic/organic hybrid microcapsules: melamine formaldehyde-coated Laponite-based Pickering emulsions.

A facile synthesis route to novel inorganic/organic hybrid microcapsules is reported. Laponite nanoparticles are surface-modified via electrostatic adsorption of Magnafloc, an amine-based polyelectrolyte allowing the formation of stable oil-in-water Pickering emulsions. Hybrid microcapsules can be subsequently prepared by coating these Pickering emulsion precursors with dense melamine formaldehyde (MF) shells.

Preparation of double emulsions using hybrid polymer/silica particles: new pickering emulsifiers with adjustable surface wettability.

A facile route for the preparation of water-in-oil-in-water (w/o/w) double emulsions is described for three model oils, namely, n-dodecane, isopropyl myristate, and isononyl isononanoate, using fumed silica particles coated with poly(ethylene imine) (PEI). The surface wettability of such hybrid PEI/silica particles can be systematically adjusted by (i) increasing the adsorbed amount of PEI and (ii) addition of 1-undecanal to the oil phase prior to homogenization. In the absence of this long-chain aldehyde, PEI/silica hybrid particles (PEI/silica mass ratio = 0.

Rational design of heat-set and specific-ion-responsive supramolecular hydrogels based on the Hofmeister effect.

Smart supramolecular hydrogels have been prepared from a bolaamphiphilic L-valine derivative in aqueous solutions of different salts. The hydrogels respond selectively to different ions and are either reinforced or weakened. In one case, in contrast to conventional systems, the hydrogels are formed upon heating of the system.

Adhesion of perfume-filled microcapsules to model fabric surfaces.

The retention and adhesion of melamine formaldehyde (MF) microcapsules on a model fabric surface in aqueous solution were investigated using a customised flow chamber technique and atomic force microscopy (AFM). A cellulose film was employed as a model fabric surface. Modification of the cellulose with chitosan was found to increase the retention and adhesion of microcapsules on the model fabric surface.

Freezing capture of polymorphic aggregates of bolaamphiphilic (L)-valine-based molecular hydrogelators.

Nanostructured xerogels have been prepared by the freeze-drying of hydrogels and aggregates formed by bolaamphiphilic L-valine derivatives after aging under different environmental conditions. A wide variety of shapes and sizes has been achieved by a simple methodology. These nanostructures have been studied by SEM and WAXD and a dramatic influence of structural flexibility on the kinetics of aggregation has been observed.

Double emulsions and colloidosomes-in-colloidosomes using silica-based Pickering emulsifiers.

Poly(ethylene imine) (PEI) has been adsorbed onto the surface of fumed silica particles at pH 10 in order to produce an effective "hybrid" Pickering emulsifier. Systematically increasing the PEI/silica mass ratio at a fixed silica concentration of 1.0% w/w modifies the silica particle surface and hence allows the formation of oil-in-water (o/w) Pickering emulsions prepared via homogenization of an aldehyde-rich multi-component fragrance oil (at 12,000 rpm for 2 min at 20 °C).

Interplay of molecular hydrogelators and SDS affords responsive soft matter systems with tunable properties.

The gelation efficiency of low molecular weight bolaamphiphilic hydrogelators 1 and 2 is influenced by the presence of SDS micelles. Similarly, the critical micellar concentration value of SDS is reduced in the presence of the studied molecular hydrogelators. Rheological measurements indicate that the strength of the hydrogels can be modulated with SDS, the gels becoming weaker in the presence of micelles.

Molecular hydrogels from bolaform amino acid derivatives: a structure-properties study based on the thermodynamics of gel solubilization.

Insight is provided into the aggregation thermodynamics associated to hydrogel formation by molecular gelators derived from L-valine and L-isoleucine. Solubility data from NMR measurements are used to extract thermodynamic parameters for the aggregation in water. It is concluded that at room temperature and up to 55 °C, these systems form self-assembled fibrillar networks in water with quite low or zero enthalpic component, whereas the entropy of the aggregation is favorable.

Treatment of cotton with an alkaline Bacillus spp cellulase: activity towards crystalline cellulose.

We analysed the influence of several enzymatic treatment processes using an alkaline cellulase enzyme from Bacillus spp. on the sorption properties of cotton fabrics. Although cellulases are commonly applied in detergent formulations due to their anti-redeposition and depilling benefits, determining the mechanism of action of alkaline cellulases on cotton fibres requires a deeper understanding of the morphology and structure of cotton fibres in terms of fibre cleaning.