Flash Nanoprecipitation Synthesized Polymer Nanocapsules

With advances in the development of nanoparticles, interest in multicomponent materials has grown. For example, nanocapsules, comprised of a solid shell and liquid core, have found applications in a number of technologies. One method of synthesizing nanocapsules is flash nanoprecipitation, in which a solution of a polymer and a small molecular organic liquid is injected into a rapidly stirring miscible non-solvent. As the two solvents mix, droplets of the polymer solution develop into nanocapsules; the polymer diffuses more slowly than the smaller molecules of the organic compound, forming a shell around it. An initial model of polystyrene-shelled nanocapsules with n-hexadecane liquid cores has been proven successful. The process may also be used to create nanocapsules using a variety of combinations of polymers, solvents, and organic compounds for different applications, primarily in biomedical imaging and drug delivery applications.