Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2026
05:43
Preparation of Giant Vesicles Encapsulating Microspheres by Centrifugation of a Water-in-oil Emulsion
Published on: January 24, 2017
Preparation of tiny biodegradable capsules using electrocapillary emulsification.
Masahiko Abe1, Ai Nakayama, Tamotsu Kondo
1Faculty of Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, Japan. abemasa@rs.noda.tus.ac.jp
Journal of Microencapsulation
|October 11, 2007
Summary
Researchers developed tiny biodegradable capsules using electrocapillary emulsification. These capsules, sized 100-300 nm, effectively encapsulated lactoferrin while degrading faster in intestinal fluid.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Biodegradable capsules are crucial for drug delivery and nutrient encapsulation.
- Traditional methods for creating monodisperse emulsions often require mechanical agitation.
- Electrocapillary emulsification offers a novel, low-shear approach to emulsion formation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To optimize conditions for preparing tiny biodegradable capsules using electrocapillary emulsification.
- To characterize the size, surface roughness, and degradation properties of the prepared capsules.
- To evaluate the encapsulation efficiency and activity retention of lactoferrin within the capsules.
Main Methods:
- Electrocapillary emulsification utilizing a direct current (DC) potential between oil and water phases.
- Optimization of surfactant mixtures (polysorbate 80 and sorbitan monooleate), oil phase (cyclohexane), and applied DC potential (1000 V).
- Characterization of capsule size (100-300 nm) and surface roughness (approx. 10 nm).
- Degradation studies in model gastric and intestinal juices.
- Encapsulation and activity assessment of lactoferrin.
Main Results:
- An optimal surfactant mixture (1:4 polysorbate 80:sorbitan monooleate) and cyclohexane as the oil phase were identified.
- 1000 V was determined to be the optimal DC potential for generating monodisperse emulsions.
- The prepared biodegradable capsules exhibited sizes of 100-300 nm with a surface roughness of approximately 10 nm.
- Capsules degraded more readily and rapidly in simulated intestinal juice compared to simulated gastric juice.
- Encapsulated lactoferrin retained 12.5% of its activity after the encapsulation process.
Conclusions:
- Electrocapillary emulsification is an effective method for producing small, monodisperse biodegradable capsules without mechanical agitation.
- The optimized formulation and conditions yield capsules suitable for potential applications in targeted delivery.
- The observed degradation profile suggests suitability for intestinal delivery, and successful encapsulation of active lactoferrin demonstrates potential for therapeutic use.
