Hollow permeable polysiloxane capsules: a novel approach for fabrication, guest encapsulation and morphology studies

Abstract

Hollow permeable polysiloxane capsules with diameters between 180 and 210 nm were firstly fabricated by consecutively cocondensed methyltrimethoxysilane and dimethyldimethoxysilane monomers onto polydimethylsiloxane and subsequently removing the templated polydimethylsiloxane by exposure to solvents. The morphology of the polymer particles was demonstrated by transmission electron micrographs (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). One possible model was firstly proposed to gain the best illustration of the capsules. Indomethacin was originally encapsulated into the capsules using a solute-co-diffusion method.