Polyelectrolyte nanocapsules through LbL on vesicular templates

Hollow spheres on the submicrometer scale (nm) are obtained with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolytes. The polymers alginate and chitosan were alternatively adsorbed on colloidal templates such as vesicles or liposomes made of surfactants or lipids. The interaction of a non ionic surfactant with the template allows to achieve hollow structures with a simply and mild procedure [1]. The novel nanocapsules are characterized by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS), the ζ-potential, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).The shape of the aggregates before and after the core removal was observed by SEM analysis The surface charge values of the hollow nanocapsules, after the core dissolution, indicates good aggregate stability. DLS measurements showed that the size of the nanocapsules is on the order of hundreds of nanometers. The response of the capsules to the temperature increase, as well as the response towards the tuning of other parameters are being investigated.