Tailored layer-by-layer deposition of silica reinforced polyelectrolyte layers on polymer microcapsules for enhanced antioxidant cargo retention

Abstract This study reports a robust and straightforward approach to fabricate polymer microcapsules with a silica reinforced polyelectrolyte thin shell layer. We showed that the layer-by-layer deposition of silica nanoparticles with polyelectrolytes remarkably reinforced the shell layer, which was experimentally demonstrated by focused ion beam analysis. Moreover, we demonstrated that the molecular degradation of a model antioxidant encapsulated in our capsule system was effectively hindered during long-term storage. This indicates that the presence of the silica nanoparticles-reinforced polyelectrolyte shell layer displayed enhanced cargo retention against leakage of the antioxidant as well as oxygen attack from the surroundings.