Novel microcapsule designs and manufacturing processes

该项目旨在解决主要的工业挑战，这些挑战限制了微胶囊技术在广泛领域的全面应用，包括油漆和涂料，家庭和个人护理，农用化学品和润滑剂等。理想的微胶囊通常是核-壳结构，尺寸在微米范围内，能够将有价值的活性成分如药物或芳香油保留在其核内，并以受控的方式以预定的位置和速率释放它们。为了设计有效的微胶囊系统，至关重要的是，微胶囊芯和它们的保护壳的性质都得到很好的控制，并针对它们的具体应用进行充分优化。这包括例如在洗衣粉中输送酶、在农用化学品中输送杀虫剂、在食品中输送香料、在油漆/涂料中输送杀生物剂以及在化妆品中输送抗氧化剂。目前，大多数商业微胶囊都是球形结构，外壳由合成或生物来源的聚合物制成。a）微胶囊壳的孔隙率通常太高，不能在预期的递送之前有效地保留活性成分-这在医学应用中是一个重大的挑战，以最小化来自浸出药物的副作用; B）微胶囊在目标表面上的沉积和保留通常太低-这导致很大比例的含有香料油的微胶囊在洗衣机循环中被冲下下水道，从而潜在地导致水污染和需要更高的剂量c）聚合物壳通常由合成的不可回收和不可生物降解的材料制成，当它们无意地积累时会造成环境污染，这是目前正在日益受到监管的主要环境安全问题;和d）微胶囊主要由乳液液滴形式的前体物体制造，如果要利用微胶囊技术的巨大潜力，解决上述重要挑战是关键a）更有针对性和更有效的交付（包括使用低得多的剂量和大幅减少副作用）农业领域的杀虫剂，例如治疗严重疾病的强效药物，以及B）在各种行业中开发新的解决方案，例如通过设计新的能量存储设备用于更有效的家庭绝缘。在此基础上，我们的项目将联合收割机的力量，三个最活跃的英国学术团体和坚定承诺的关键工业合作伙伴，以开发解决这些挑战，包括：-开发一个低能耗的制造过程，以生产微胶囊的乳液液滴前体;- 设计和测试一系列替代微胶囊壳无机化学物质- 更坚固和渗透性更低的壳，以降低壳的渗透性，从而也降低了不希望的浸出的可能性- 更可持续和可生物降解的外壳，不会停留在它们积聚的位置;生产非球形微胶囊以改善其在目标表面上的沉积和保留（通过增加与表面相互作用的表面积），从而实现更有效的使用和更低剂量的活性成分。该项目将资助3个后-通过EPSRC以及学术机构和工业合作伙伴的联合，从事上述各个方面工作的博士研究人员将为2博士生也参与了整个项目的部分工作。

This project aims to tackle major industrial challenges, which limit the full uptake of microencapsulation technology in a broad range of areas including paints and coatings, home and personal care, agrochemicals and lubricants to name but a few. Ideal microcapsules are typically core-shell structures, of sizes in the range of micrometres, capable of retaining valuable active ingredients such as pharmaceutical drugs or fragrance oils within their core and releasing them in a controlled manner at a location and rate that is predetermined. In order to design efficient microcapsule systems, it is critical that the properties of both microcapsule core and their protective shell are well controlled and fully optimised for their specific application. This includes for example delivery of enzymes in washing powders, of pesticides for agro-chemicals, of flavours in foods, of biocides in paints/coatings and of antioxidants in cosmetics.Currently, most commercial microcapsules are spherical structures with a shell made from synthetic or bio-sourced polymers. These designs suffer from significant drawbacks, including: a) microcapsule shell porosity is often too high and does not allow for efficient retention of the active ingredients before the intended delivery - this is a significant challenge in medical applications to minimise the side effects from leaching drugs; b) microcapsule deposition and retention on the targeted surface is often too low - this leads to a very large proportion of microcapsules containing perfume oils being washed down the drain in a washing machine cycle, thus potentially causing both water contamination and higher doses needed (i.e. increased product cost); c) polymer shells are often made from synthetic non-recyclable and non-biodegradable materials, which cause environmental pollution when they unintentionally accumulate, a major current environmental safety concern currently being increasing regulated; and d) microcapsules are mostly manufactured from precursor objects in the form of emulsion droplets, which are typically produced using very energy-intensive and wasteful processes.Addressing the important challenges above is key if the large potential of microencapsulation technology is to be harnessed a) for more targeted and more efficient delivery (including the use of much lower dosages and the drastic reduction in side effects) of pesticides in agricultural fields, potent drugs in treating serious diseases for example and b) for developing new solutions in a wide variety of industries, for example via designing new energy storage devices for more efficient home insulation.On this basis, our project will combine the strength of three of the most active UK academic groups and strongly committed key industrial partners to develop solutions to these challenges, including:- Developing a low energy manufacturing process to produce the emulsion droplet precursors to microcapsules;- Designing and testing a range of alternative microcapsule shell inorganic chemistries (i.e. not organic polymers) that improve properties of current systems, including: - More robust and less permeable shells to decrease shell permeability and thus also reduce potential for undesired leaching (and side effects) of the encapsulated active ingredients; - More sustainable and biodegradable shells that do not linger in the locations they accumulate;Producing microcapsules of non-spherical shapes to improve their deposition and retention on the targeted surfaces (through increased surface area of interaction with the surfaces), thus enabling more efficient use and lower dosages of active ingredients to be achieved.The project will fund 3 post-doctoral researchers working on the various aspects discussed above via EPSRC and a combination of the academic institutions and the industrial partners will provide additional funding for 2 PhD students also working on parts of the overall project.