High-Throughput Platform for Synthesis of Melamine-Formaldehyde Microcapsules

ÇAKIR, SEDA; BAUTERS, ERWIN; RIVERO, GUADALUPE; PARASOTE, TOM; PAUL, JOHAN; DU PREZ, FILIP E.

ACS Combinatorial Science

American Chemical Society

Año: 2017 vol. 19 p. 447 - 454

2156-8952

The synthesis of microcapsules via in situ polymerization is a labor-intensive and time-consuming process, where many composition and process factors affect the microcapsule formation and its morphology. Herein, we report a novel combinatorial technique for the preparation of melamine-formaldehyde microcapsules, using a custom-made and automated high-throughput platform (HTP). After performing validation experiments for ensuring the accuracy and reproducibility of the novel platform, a design of experiment study was performed. The influence of different encapsulation parameters was investigated, such as the effect of the surfactant, surfactant type, surfactant concentration and core/shell ratio. As a result, this HTP-platform is suitable to be used for the synthesis of different types of microcapsules in an automated and controlled way, allowing the screening of different reaction parameters in a shorter time compared to the manual synthetic techniques.