Polysaccharide-shell oil-core nanocapsules are proposed as facile mergeable nanoreactors. Spontaneous fusion of oppositely charged polysaccharide capsules is demonstrated for the first time. Such capsules are formed and quickly loaded with reagents by nanoemulsification of an aqueous solution of hydrophobically modified polysaccharides (chitosan, hyaluronate) and oleic acid with dissolved desired hydrophobic compounds. Efficient fusion of the formed nanocapsules dispersed in an aqueous medium at optimized conditions (pH, ionic strength) is followed using fluorescence microscopy by labeling their cores and shells with fluorescent dyes. As a proof of concept, a model fluorogenic synthesis is also realized by fusing the capsules containing separated reagents and the catalyst. The nanocapsules and fusion process developed here establish a platform for realizing versatile reactions in a confined environment, including model studies on biologically relevant processes in natural systems.
J. Odrobińska-Baliś, E. Gumieniczek–Chłopek, T. Uchacz, P. Banachowicz, A. Medaj, S. Zapotoczny, “Spontaneous Fusion of Core-Shell Nanocapsules with Oil Cores and Oppositely Charged Polysaccharide Shells” Small