Stimuli-Responsive Core–Shell Microcapsules with Tunable Rates of Release by Using a Depolymerizable Poly(phthalaldehyde) Membrane

Abstract

Flow-focusing microfluidic techniques were used to provide access to core–shell microcapsules in which the shell is composed of end-capped poly(phthalaldehydes) that depolymerize completely from head-to-tail in response to fluoride. Microcapsules made from these depolymerizable polymers provide an amplified response to the applied chemical signal, where the rate of the response can be tuned both by varying the length of the polymer and the thickness of the shell wall.