| 초록 |
Despite the recent development of stimuli-responsive controlled release system, preparation of pH-responsive microcapsules with well-defined size and structure in a continuous manner remains a problem to be resolved. In this study, we present a microfluidic approach in which water-in-oil-in-oil-in-water (W1/O1/O2/W2) triple emulsion droplets are used as templates to prepare monodisperse pH-responsive microcapsules. The polymeric shell is formed by the interfacial complexation of two complementary hydrogen-bonding polymers, poly(methacrylic acid)(PMAA) and poly(propylene oxide)(PPO), at the water/oil interface of the emulsion droplets. In addition, we demonstrate that the resulting microcapsules release the encapsulated cargoes above the critical pH due to ionization of PMAA. We anticipate that the strategy outlined in this work is applicable to broad range of hydrogen-bonding polymers with different pKa values, presenting a new direction in the design of pH-responsive microcapsules. |
