Mechanical properties of semipermeable microcapsules

Microplastic label in microencapsulation field - Consequence of shell material selection

Plastics make our lives easier in many ways; however, if they are not appropriately disposed of or recycled, they may end up in the environment where they stay for centuries and degrade into smaller and smaller pieces, called microplastics. Each year, approximately 42000 tonnes of microplastics end up in the environment when products containing them are used. According to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) one of the significant sources of microplastics are microcapsules formulated in home care and consumer care products. As part of the EU's plastics strategy, ECHA has proposed new regulations to ban intentionally added microplastics starting from 2022. It means that the current cross-linked microcapsules widely applied in consumer goods must be transformed into biodegradable shell capsules. The aim of this review is to provide the readers with a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of recent developments in the art of microencapsulation. Thus, considering the chemical structure of the capsule shell's materials, we discuss whether microcapsules should also be categorized as microplastic and therefore, feared and avoided or whether they should be used despite the persisting concern.

Simulated and Experimental Investigation of the Mechanical Properties and Solubility of 3D-Printed Capsules for Self-Healing Cement Composites

In the concrete industry, various R&D efforts have been devoted to self-healing technology, which can maintain the long-term performance of concrete structures, which is important in terms of sustainable development. Cracks in cement composites occur and propagate because of various internal and external factors, reducing the composite's stability. Interest in "self-healing" materials that can repair cracks has led researchers to embed self-healing capsules in cement composites. Overcoming the limitations of polymer capsules produced by chemical manufacturing methods, three-dimensional (3D) printing can produce capsules quickly and accurately and offers advantages such as high material strength, low cost, and the ability to fabricate capsules with complex geometries. We performed structural analysis simulations, experimentally evaluated the mechanical properties and solubility of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) capsules, and examined the effect of the capsule wall thickness and printing direction on cement composites embedded with these capsules. Thicker capsules withstood larger bursting loads, and the capsule rupture characteristics varied with the printing angle. Thus, the capsule design parameters must be optimized for different environments. Although the embedded capsules slightly reduced the compressive strength of the cement composites, the benefit of the encapsulated self-healing agent is expected to overcome this disadvantage.

Determination of the Mechanical Strength of Microcapsules

The promise of pancreatic islet transplantation is hindered by organ shortage, and the need for immunosuppression of transplant recipient in order to prevent rejection. Alginate microencapsulation can overcome these hurdles; however further optimization of this technique is required. Among the critical factors to be optimized is the durability of alginate microcapsules, which can be determined by their mechanical strength tests. Here we describe several simple and reliable methods to assist in assessing the mechanical strength of alginate beads.

Systematic study of alginate-based microcapsules by micropipette aspiration and confocal fluorescence microscopy

Micropipette aspiration and confocal fluorescence microscopy were used to study the structure and mechanical properties of calcium alginate hydrogel beads (A beads), as well as A beads that were additionally coated with poly-L-lysine (P) and sodium alginate (A) to form, respectively, AP and APA hydrogels. A beads were found to continue curing for up to 500 h during storage in saline, due to residual calcium chloride carried over from the gelling bath. In subsequent saline washes, micropipette aspiration proved to be a sensitive indicator of gel weakening and calcium loss. Aspiration tests were used to compare capsule stiffness before and after citrate extraction of calcium. They showed that the initial gel strength is largely due to the calcium alginate gel cores, while the long term strength is solely due to the poly-L-lysine-alginate polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) shells. Confocal fluorescence microscopy showed that calcium chloride exposure after PLL deposition led to PLL redistribution into the hydrogel bead, resulting in thicker but more diffuse and weaker PEC shells. Adding a final alginate coating to form APA capsules did not significantly change the PEC membrane thickness and stiffness, but did speed the loss of calcium from the bead core.

Identification of the elastic properties of an artificial capsule membrane with the compression test: Effect of thickness

The mechanical properties of a capsule membrane are evaluated by means of a compression experiment between two parallel plates. Since large deformations of the membrane are involved, the choice of the wall material constitutive law is essential. In this paper, we explore different classical laws to describe the behavior of the membrane and evaluate also the limit of application of the thin shell approximation. A numerical study of the compression process is performed using Abaqus software and an inverse method is used to identify the material constants of the constitutive laws. The comparison between the model predictions and experimental measurements on capsules with serum albumin-alginate membranes, indicates that the thin shell approximation is valid only for thickness to radius ratios up to 5% and that thick membranes obey non linear elastomer type constitutive laws. The Young modulus of the membrane material is found to increase non-linearly with membrane thickness, thus indicating that fabrication of thicker serum albumin-alginate walls results in capsules stiffer than expected.

Compression of biocompatible liquid-filled HSA-alginate capsules: determination of the membrane mechanical properties

Compression experiments between two parallel plates are performed on a series of biocompatible HSA-alginate capsules with two different membrane thicknesses. The capsule geometry and size as well as the average membrane thickness are first measured. The compression set-up is fitted with a sensitive force transducer that allows measurement of the compression force as a function of plate separation. The response of the capsule is analyzed by assuming different constitutive models for the membrane, where the shear and surface dilatation effects are accounted. An apparent area dilatation modulus is then computed for different values of the plate separation and required to remain constant as the capsule deformation increases. This allows identification of plausible constitutive laws for the membrane material.

Mechanical properties of melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules

The mechanical properties of melamine-formaldehyde (M-F) microcapsules were studied using a micromanipulation technique. Single microcapsules with diameters of 1-12 microm were compressed and held between two parallel planes, compressed and released, and compressed to burst at different speeds, whilst the force being imposed on the microcapsules and their deformation were measured simultaneously. This force increased as single microcapsules were compressed and then relaxed slightly as they were held. When the microcapsules were repeatedly compressed and released, a pseudo yield point was found for each microcapsule. Before the microcapsules were compressed to this point, the deformed microcapsules recovered to their original shape once the force was removed. However, when the deformation was beyond the 'yield point' there was profound hysteresis and the microcapsules showed plastic behaviour. As the microcapsules were compressed to burst at different speeds, ranging from 0.5-6.0 microm/s, it was found that their mean bursting forces did not change significantly. The deformations at the pseudo yield point and at bursting were also independent of the compression speed. On average, these melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules reached their 'yield point' at a deformation of about 19 +/- 1%, and burst at a deformation of 70 +/- 1%.

Mechanical strength of single microcapsules determined by a novel micromanipulation technique

A micromanipulation technique has been developed to measure the bursting force of single dry microcapsules coated onto a surface, such as those normally used in carbonless copying paper. For measuring the bursting force of a given microcapsule, a single fine probe with a flat end about 10 microns in diameter was used to squeeze the microcapsule against a flat surface until it burst. The force being imposed on the microcapsule was measured by a transducer connected to the probe. The bursting force and diameter of single dry microcapsules in two samples, different in size and wall thickness, were measured by this technique. The bursting force of the microcapsules in one sample ranged from 50 to 220 microN and the diameter from 1.3 to 7.0 microns, whilst the bursting force in the other was from 20 to 175 microN and the diameter from 0.7 to 3.7 microns. This technique makes it possible to compare the mechanical strength of microcapsules made of different formulations, and to infer information about microcapsule mechanical properties.

Microencapsulation within crosslinked polyethyleneimine membranes

A microencapsulation technique is proposed involving the formation of a polyethyleneimine (PEI) membrane crosslinked by an acid dichloride. The membranes were formed at pH 8 in a non-polar solvent, conditions which are better suited for the encapsulation of biocatalysts or fragile biochemicals than those using polyamide membranes. The mean diameter and size distribution of the PEI microcapsules were similar to that observed with nylon membranes. The resultant microcapsules were spherical, free-flowing with a strong membrane. The mass of membrane was seen to be independent of the reaction time (1-4 min), insensitive to the PEI concentration and proportional to the concentration of crosslinking agent.