Sol-gel microspheres and nanospheres for controlled release applications

Abstract

We present a novel approach to the synthesis of inorganic sol-gel microspheres for encapsulating organic and bioactive molecules, and controlling their subsequent release kinetics.The bioactive species are incorporated, at ambient temperature, into the inorganic particles using an emulsion gelation process, Independent control of the release rate (by adapting the nanostructure of the internal pore network to the physico-chemical properties of the bioactive molecules) and particle size (by tailoring the emulsion chemistry) is demonstrated.