Tunable Core-Shell Nanoarchitectures Containing Encapsulated Beta-Carotene

New hybrid architectures incorporating synthetic polymers and nanoparticles are being developed to achieve protection of natural dyes and other bioderived active species from UV radiation, oxygen and moisture. The research focuses on the design and evaluation of modular core-shell nanoarchitectures, with the potential for new technology in sensing, energy harvesting, pharmaceutical delivery, protection and decontamination. Investigating the encapsulation and protection of beta-carotene is useful for multiple purposes, since beta-carotene is a natural pigment as well as a therapeutic biomolecule.

Uniform and core-shell polymer (PMMA) microspheres are produced by using the solvent evaporation technique, while nanoparticles are synthesized from the phase inversion method before incorporation into the microparticle core or shell. Particle synthesis is undertaken both in bulk systems and on a high precision microfluidic platform, where superior control of the particle size and composition is accomplished. We examine the particle morphology by optical and electron microscopy and evaluate the protective properties through UV/Visible spectrophotometry. The ability to encapsulate beta-carotene in any compartment of the hybrid microparticle can enable systematic study of protection mechanisms at multiple length scales.