Issue 26, 2011

Protein–mineral hybrid capsules from emulsions stabilized with an amphiphilic protein

Abstract

Biomineralization comprises a most promising process to produce novel materials in an energy-efficient way. We present a straightforward route for the production of hybrid capsules composed of the amphiphilic protein hydrophobin and hydroxyapatite; the synthesis is water-based and can be performed without toxic ingredients. Emulsion droplets stabilized with hydrophobin serve as templates for the growth of a mineral shell, permeable for small molecules. The system is sensitive to the choice of oil and the mineralization time, offering ample opportunities to tune capsule properties like shell thickness and morphology. The mineral phase as well as the behaviour of the capsules upon thermal treatment is investigated. The resulting capsules could find applications as microreactors or in the field of drug delivery.

Graphical abstract: Protein–mineral hybrid capsules from emulsions stabilized with an amphiphilic protein

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
14 Feb 2011
Accepted
11 Apr 2011
First published
27 May 2011

J. Mater. Chem., 2011,21, 9731-9736

Proteinmineral hybrid capsules from emulsions stabilized with an amphiphilic protein

A. Schulz, B. M. Liebeck, D. John, A. Heiss, T. Subkowski and A. Böker, J. Mater. Chem., 2011, 21, 9731 DOI: 10.1039/C1JM10662G

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.

Spotlight

Advertisements