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research article

Biocompatible Amphiphilic Hydrogel–Solid Dimer Particles as Colloidal Surfactants

Chen, Dong
•
Amstad, Esther
•
Zhao, Chun-Xia
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December 4, 2017
ACS Nano

Emulsions of two immiscible liquids can slowly coalesce over time when stabilized by surfactant molecules. Pickering emulsions stabilized by colloidal particles can be much more stable. Here, we fabricate biocompatible amphiphilic dimer particles using a hydrogel, a strongly hydrophilic material, and achieve large contrast in the wetting properties of the two bulbs, resulting in enhanced stabilization of emulsions. We generate monodisperse single emulsions of alginate and shellac solution in oil using a flow-focusing microfluidics device. Shellac precipitates from water and forms a solid bulb at the periphery of the droplet when the emulsion is exposed to acid. Molecular interactions result in amphiphilic dimer particles that consist of two joined bulbs: one hydrogel bulb of alginate in water and the other hydrophobic bulb of shellac. Alginate in the hydrogel compartment can be cross-linked using calcium cations to obtain stable particles. Analogous to surfactant molecules at the interface, the resultant amphiphilic particles stand at the water/oil interface with the hydrogel bulb submerged in water and the hydrophobic bulb in oil and are thus able to stabilize both water-in-oil and oil-in-water emulsions, making these amphiphilic hydrogel–solid particles ideal colloidal surfactants for various applications.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/acsnano.7b03110
Author(s)
Chen, Dong
Amstad, Esther
Zhao, Chun-Xia
Cai, Liheng
Fan, Jing
Chen, Qiushui
Hai, Mingtan
Koehler, Stephan
Zhang, Huidan
Liang, Fuxin
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Date Issued

2017-12-04

Published in
ACS Nano
Volume

11

Issue

12

Start page

11978

End page

11985

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SMAL  
Available on Infoscience
July 19, 2018
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/147444
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