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Milster S, Darwish A, Göth N, Dzubiella J. Synergistic chemomechanical dynamics of feedback-controlled microreactors. Phys Rev E 2023; 108:L042601. [PMID: 37978612 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.108.l042601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
The experimental control of synergistic chemomechanical dynamics of catalytically active microgels (microreactors) is a key prerequisite for the design of adaptive and biomimetic materials. Here, we report a minimalistic model of feedback-controlled microreactors based on the coupling between the hysteretic polymer volume phase transition and a volume-controlled permeability for the internal chemical conversion. We categorize regimes of mono- and bistability, excitability, damped oscillations, as well as sustained oscillatory states with tunable amplitude, as indicated by experiments and representable by the FitzHugh-Nagumo dynamics for neurons. We summarize the features of such a "colloidal neuron" in bifurcation diagrams with respect to microgel design parameters, such as permeability and relaxation times, as a guide for experimental synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Milster
- Applied Theoretical Physics - Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Abeer Darwish
- Applied Theoretical Physics - Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Nils Göth
- Applied Theoretical Physics - Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Applied Theoretical Physics - Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence livMatS @ FIT - Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79110 Freiburg, Germany
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Yang Q, Hu G, Qiu H, Mia R, Zhang H, Pei L, Wang J. Temperature-Sensitive Fragrance Microcapsules with Double Capsule Walls: A Study on Preparation and Sustained Release Mechanism. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:3686. [PMID: 37765539 PMCID: PMC10536482 DOI: 10.3390/polym15183686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Microcapsules are small particles that can effectively protect a core material from degradation. Microcapsules with double capsule walls can improve stability and reduce breakage due to the fact that the physical and chemical properties of double-walled materials can complement each other, thus enhancing the quality and applicability of a microcapsule. Microcapsules can achieve controlled release of core materials by using a temperature-sensitive wall material. In this research, gelatin was used as the inner wall material for these double-walled microcapsules. The outer wall material was a composite material prepared by the reaction of a hydroxyl group in gum arabic with an amino group in N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) in the presence of N, N'-methylene bisacrylamide (BIS), while lavender fragrance oil served as the core material. A complex coalescence method was used for the preparation of microcapsules with double capsule walls. The effects of different proportions of gum arabic to NIPAM on the core loading, microcapsule yield and thermal stability of microcapsules were studied in detail. Additionally, the stability of these fragrance microcapsules with double capsule walls in different solvents and pH values was evaluated. The sustained release properties and mechanism of cotton fabrics treated with prepared fragrance microcapsules were investigated. The results show that the microcapsules prepared with a 10:1 ratio of NIPAM to gum arabic have good temperature responsiveness. Therefore, clothing treated with microcapsules with temperature-sensitive wall materials can ensure that the human body has a fresh and pleasant smell in the case of perspiring in summer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qun Yang
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Clean Production of Textile Chemistry, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Genghao Hu
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Huili Qiu
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Rajib Mia
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Hongjuan Zhang
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Clean Production of Textile Chemistry, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Liujun Pei
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Clean Production of Textile Chemistry, Shanghai 201620, China
| | - Jiping Wang
- School of Textiles and Fashion, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai 201620, China
- Shanghai Engineering Research Center for Clean Production of Textile Chemistry, Shanghai 201620, China
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Göth N, Baul U, Dzubiella J. Active responsive colloids driven by intrinsic dichotomous noise. Phys Rev E 2022; 106:064611. [PMID: 36671078 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.106.064611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
We study the influence of intrinsic noise on the structure and dynamics of responsive colloids (RCs), which actively change their size and mutual interactions. The colloidal size is explicitly resolved in our RC model as an internal degree of freedom (DOF) in addition to the particle translation. A Hertzian pair potential between the RCs leads to repulsion and shrinking of the particles, resulting in an explicit responsiveness of the system to self-crowding. To render the colloids active, their size is internally driven by a dichotomous noise, randomly switching ("breathing") between growing and shrinking states with a predefined rate, as motivated by recent experiments on synthetic active colloids. The polydispersity of this dichotomous active responsive colloid (D-ARC) model can be tuned by the parameters of the noise. Utilizing stochastic computer simulations, we study crowding effects on the spatial distributions, relaxation times, and self-diffusion of dense suspensions of the D-ARCs. We find a substantial influence of the "built-in" intrinsic noise on the system's behavior, in particular, transitions from unimodal to bimodal size distributions for an increasing colloid density as well as intrinsic noise-modified diffusive translational dynamics. We conclude that controlling the noise of internal DOFs of a macromolecule or cell is a powerful tool for active colloidal materials to enable autonomous changes in the system's collective structure and dynamics towards the adaptation of macroscopic properties to external perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Göth
- Applied Theoretical Physics-Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Upayan Baul
- Applied Theoretical Physics-Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Dzubiella
- Applied Theoretical Physics-Computational Physics, Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence livMatS @ FIT-Freiburg Center for Interactive Materials and Bioinspired Technologies, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, D-79110 Freiburg, Germany
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Bell DJ, Felder D, von Westarp WG, Wessling M. Towards synergistic oscillations in enzymatically active hydrogel spheres. SOFT MATTER 2021; 17:592-599. [PMID: 33201965 DOI: 10.1039/d0sm01548b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive polymers are capable of reacting to an external trigger. We report self-regulated, enzymatically active, and pH-responsive hydrogels that show dynamic behavior without an external trigger. This is enabled by a feedback loop between the enzymatic conversion of glucose into gluconic acid and the pH-induced volume phase transition that leads to a modulation in glucose permeability. The synthesized hydrogel spheres combine all required properties for sustained oscillation including enzymatic activity, switchable reactivity, hysteresis in volume phase transition and feedback between the reaction and permeation. A simple model of the system identified possible operating points where sustained oscillations are possible. Experiments at these operating points revealed that the system is able to perform a self-regulated oscillation cycle under a constant nutrient supply. A sensitivity analysis showed that the system is especially sensitive around the point of oscillation, so that precise control of the process parameters is essential to achieve sustained oscillations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Josef Bell
- Chemical Process Engineering RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
| | - Daniel Felder
- DWI Leibnitz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Matthias Wessling
- Chemical Process Engineering RWTH Aachen University, Forckenbeckstr. 51, 52074 Aachen, Germany. and DWI Leibnitz-Institute for Interactive Materials, Forckenbeckstr. 50, 52074 Aachen, Germany
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A novel capsule-based self-recovery system with a chloride ion trigger. Sci Rep 2015; 5:10866. [PMID: 26051224 PMCID: PMC4458884 DOI: 10.1038/srep10866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Steel is prone to corrosion induced by chloride ions, which is a serious threat to reinforced concrete structures, especially in marine environments. In this work, we report a novel capsule-based self-recovery system that utilizes chloride ions as a trigger. These capsules, which are functionalized via a smart response to chloride ions, are fabricated using a silver alginate hydrogel that disintegrates upon contact with chloride ions, and thereby releases the activated core materials. The experimental results show that the smart capsules respond to a very low concentration of chloride ions (0.1 wt%). Therefore, we believe that this novel capsule-based self-recovery system will exhibit a promising prospect for self-healing or corrosion inhibition applications.
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Abbaspourrad A, Datta SS, Weitz DA. Controlling release from pH-responsive microcapsules. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2013; 29:12697-702. [PMID: 24041287 DOI: 10.1021/la403064f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
We report a microfluidic approach to produce monodisperse pH-responsive microcapsules with precisely controlled release behavior. The solid microcapsule shells are composed of a biocompatible pH-responsive polymer and robustly encapsulate an active material; however, when exposed to a trigger pH, the shells degrade and ultimately release the microcapsule contents. We control the trigger pH by using polymers that dissolve at different pH values. We independently control the time at which the microcapsule contents are released by carefully controlling the shell thickness. Moreover, we independently control the rate at which the encapsulated contents are released by making hybrid shells composed of a mixture of a pH-responsive polymer and varying proportions of another, solid, pH-unresponsive polymer. This enables us to achieve monodisperse microcapsules that robustly encapsulate an active material, only releasing it when exposed to a desired pH, after a prescribed time delay, and at a prescribed rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Abbaspourrad
- Department of Physics and SEAS, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States
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