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Essential oils as solvents and core materials for the preparation of photo-responsive polymer nanocapsules

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Abstract

Light-triggered release of active ingredients from polymeric nanosized capsules can be employed in a wide range of applications, such as biomedicine, active packaging, and cosmetics. However, the preparation of core-shell polymeric nanocarriers typically involves the use of toxic organic solvents. To improve the sustainability and safety of nanocapsule applications, we demonstrate that natural essential oils can be used both as solvent and active material in light-responsive nanocapsules synthesized via miniemulsion polycondensation. The documented antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity of essential oils enables the design of multipurpose light-responsive delivery platforms. The photo-responsive behavior of the capsules, achieved by means of photochromic azobenzene segments embedded in the capsule shell, is triggered by UV light irradiation (λmax = 360 nm). Light-induced release kinetics of the essential oils and a fluorescent probe molecule, coumarin-6, is evaluated via UV-vis spectroscopy and spectrofluorimetry, respectively, demonstrating the efficiency and reliability of the release mechanism. Biological tests prove that the capsules are non-cytotoxic and readily internalized by cells, indicating the suitability of these smart nanocarriers for biological applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Cristina Del Barone (IPCB-CNR) for her support with electron microscopy analysis. This research was supported by Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) in the framework of the CTN01_00230_248064 Safe & Smart project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via Cynthia 4, Napoli, 80125, Italy

    Valentina Marturano

  2. Institute for Polymers, Composites and Biomaterials (IPCB-CNR), Via Campi Flegrei 34, Pozzuoli (NA), 80078, Italy

    Valentina Marturano, Valentina Bizzarro & Pierfrancesco Cerruti

  3. Institute of Agro-Environmental and Forest Biology (IBAF-CNR), Via Pietro Castellino 111, Napoli, 80131, Italy

    Adriana De Luise & Anna Calarco

  4. Department of Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering (DICMAPI), University of Naples “Federico II”, P. le Tecchio 80, Napoli, 80125, Italy

    Veronica Ambrogi

  5. Department of Chemical Engineering (DEQ), Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Països Catalans 26, Tarragona, 43007, Spain

    Marta Giamberini

  6. Chemistry Technology Centre of Catalonia (CTQC), C/Marcel•lí Domingo, Tarragona, 43007, Spain

    Bartosz Tylkowski

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  1. Valentina Marturano
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Correspondence to Veronica Ambrogi.

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Marturano, V., Bizzarro, V., De Luise, A. et al. Essential oils as solvents and core materials for the preparation of photo-responsive polymer nanocapsules. Nano Res. 11, 2783–2795 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1908-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1908-5

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