Abstract

Colloidal Microcapsules (MCs) are hollow micron/sub-micron size spherical constructs composed of nanoparticle-based shells. Recent years have witnessed various strategies towards the fabrication of stable colloidal MCs since they find applications in many areas of material and biological sciences e.g. drug delivery, encapsulation and microreactors. The inherent instability of nanoparticles (NPs) at the interface due to thermal disorder makes it difficult to obtain stable colloidal MCs composed of nanoparticles. Stable microcapsules can be obtained by stitching together the nanoparticles at the liquid-liquid interface by either covalent or non-covalent interactions. This review article highlights the critical role of the organic ligand shell on the surface of nanoparticles in fabricating stable colloidal MCs.

Keywords: Colloidal microcapsules, Colloidosomes, Self-assembly, Emulsion, Nanoparticles, Covalent crosslinking, Non-covalent crosslinking, Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, Imine formation, Candida rugosa