Issue 26, 2024

Quantitative turbidimetric characterization of stabilized complex coacervate dispersions

Abstract

Stabilizing complex coacervate microdroplets is desirable due to their various applications, such as bioreactors, drug delivery vehicles, and encapsulants. Here, we present quantitative characterization of complex coacervate dispersion stability inferred by turbidimetry measurements. The stability of the dispersions is shown to be modulated by the concentrations of comb polyelectrolyte (cPE) stabilizers and salt. We demonstrate cPEs as effective stabilizers for complex coacervate dispersions independent of the chemistry or length of the constituent polyelectrolytes, salts, or preparation routes. By monitoring the temporal evolution of dispersion turbidity, we show that cPEs suppress microdroplet coalescence with minimal change in microdroplet sizes over 48 hours, even at salt concentrations up to 300 mM. The number density and average microdroplet size are shown to be controlled by varying the cPE and salt concentrations. Lastly, turbidity maps, akin to binodal phase maps, depict an expansion of the turbid two-phase region and an increase in the salt resistance of the coacervates upon the introduction of cPEs. The coacervate salt resistance is shown to increase by >3×, and this increase is maintained for up to 15 days, demonstrating that cPEs impart higher salt resistance over extended durations.

Graphical abstract: Quantitative turbidimetric characterization of stabilized complex coacervate dispersions

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
28 Dec 2023
Accepted
22 Apr 2024
First published
30 Apr 2024

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 5060-5070

Quantitative turbidimetric characterization of stabilized complex coacervate dispersions

A. Holkar, S. Gao, K. Villaseñor, M. Lake and S. Srivastava, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 5060 DOI: 10.1039/D3SM01761C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements