chemical and biomolecular engineering

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Nanocapsules for Controlled Release of Chemicals

Professor Mike Wong's lab has developed an easier and more economical way to make capsules in the nano- to micron size range that can release chemicals in a controlled fashion. Because the new capsules are smaller and more stable than what is currently available in the market, they have many potential applications for the controlled delivery of cosmetics, food preservatives or drugs.

Research contributors include Dr. Rohit Rana, Vinit Murthy, Jie Yu, and Mark Pond.

Read more in Rice News article, Rice researchers unveil new 'green' microcapsule production method

Click the right arrow to see how this discovery was reported by WB 39 News, Houston, TX, on June 1, 2005

(Quicktime required).

Advanced Materials, May 2005

Inside Front Cover: Nanoparticle Self-Assembly of Hierarchically Ordered Microcapsule Structures
R. K. Rana, V. S. Murthy, J. Yu , M. S. Wong

email: M. S. Wong (mswong@rice.edu)

Abstract:

Nanoparticle (NP)-assembled microcapsules represent a new class of hollow-sphere material, in which materials properties can be programmed by way of NP and polymer compositions. Synthesis is based on a sequential self-assembly of NPs and polymer macromolecules.

Reported by Wong and co-workers on p. 1145, this rapid, green synthesis technique applies to a wide spectrum of colloidal species and permits non-destructive encapsulation of water-soluble compounds.

The inside cover shows a confocal microscopy image of water-filled microcapsules composed of silica NPs and a fluorescence-labelled polymer. The scale bar is 20 m. The inset shows a simplified illustration of the microcapsule assembly process.

CHEMICAL & BIOMOLECULAR ENGINEERING DEPT. MS-362

Rice University PO Box 1892
Houston, Texas 77251-1892

E-mail: chbe@rice.edu

Phone: (713) 348-4902
FAX:(713) 348-5478