Tailored layer-by-layer deposition of silica reinforced polyelectrolyte layers on polymer microcapsules for enhanced antioxidant cargo retention

This study reports a robust and straightforward approach to fabricate polymer microcapsules with a silica reinforced polyelectrolyte thin shell layer. We showed that the layer-by-layer deposition of silica nanoparticles with polyelectrolytes remarkably reinforced the shell layer, which was experimentally demonstrated by focused ion beam analysis. Moreover, we demonstrated that the molecular degradation of a model antioxidant encapsulated in our capsule system was effectively hindered during long-term storage. This indicates that the presence of the silica nanoparticles-reinforced polyelectrolyte shell layer displayed enhanced cargo retention against leakage of the antioxidant as well as oxygen attack from the surroundings. (C) 2017 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.