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Surface Morphology-Enhanced Delivery of Bioinspired Eco-Friendly Microcapsules
Summary
Researchers developed biodegradable microcapsules made from proteins and biominerals as a sustainable replacement for the synthetic polymer microplastic particles used in many consumer products including cosmetics and paints. The capsules degraded naturally and performed comparably to conventional capsules in controlled release tests. Replacing non-biodegradable microcapsules with protein-mineral alternatives could significantly reduce microplastic pollution from consumer goods.
We report the development of novel mineralized protein microcapsules to address critical challenges in the environmental impact and performance of consumer, pharmaceutical, agrochemical, cosmetic, and paint products. We designed environment-friendly capsules composed of proteins and biominerals as an alternative to solid microplastic particles or core-shell capsules made of nonbiodegradable synthetic polymeric resins. We synthesized mineralized capsule surface morphologies to mimic the features of natural pollens, which dramatically improved the deposition of high value-added fragrance chemicals on target substrates in realistic application conditions. A mechanistic model accurately captures the observed enhanced deposition behavior and shows how surface features generate an adhesive torque that resists shear detachment. Mineralized protein capsule performance is shown to depend both on material selection that determines van der Waals attraction and on capsule-substrate energy landscapes as parameterized by a geometric taxonomy for surface morphologies. These findings have broad implications for engineering multifunctional environmentally friendly delivery systems.