Supramolecular capsules

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9439868-B2
Application number	US-201214233417-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2012
Priority date	Jul 26, 2011
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

Provided is a capsule having a shell of material that is a supramolecular cross-linked network. The network is formed from a host-guest complexation of cucurbituril (the host) and one or more building blocks comprising suitable guest functionality. The complex non-covalently crosslinks the building block and/or non-covalently links the building block to another building block thereby forming the supramolecular cross-linked network. The capsules are obtained or obtainable by the complexation of a composition comprising cucurbituril and one or more building blocks having suitable cucurbituril guest functionality thereby to form a supramolecular cross-linked network.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A capsule having a shell which is obtained from the complexation of a composition comprising a host and one or more building blocks having suitable host guest functionality thereby to form a supramolecular cross-linked network; wherein
the host is cucurbituril and the one or more building blocks have suitable cucurbituril guest functionality, and
the shell is obtained from the complexation of (a) a composition comprising cucurbituril and (1) or (2) or (b) a composition comprising a plurality of covalently linked cucurbituril and (1), (2) or (3), wherein:
(1) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules and a second building block covalently linked to a plurality of second cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein a first guest molecule and a second guest molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex,
(2) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules and a plurality of second cucurbituril guest molecules wherein a first and a second guest molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex and optionally the composition further comprises a second building block covalently linked to one or more third cucurbituril guest molecules, one or more fourth cucurbituril guest molecules or both, wherein a third and a fourth molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and/or the first and fourth molecules together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and/or the second and third molecules together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and
(3) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein the first guest molecule together with the cucurbituril are suitable for forming a binary guest-host complex, optionally the composition further comprises a second building block covalently linked to one or more second. cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein the second guest molecule together with the cucurhituril are suitable for forming a binary guest-host complex.

2. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the shell is obtained from the complexation of a composition comprising cucurbituril and (1) or (2).

3. The capsule of claim 2 , wherein the shell is obtained from the complexation of a composition comprising cucurbituril and (1).

4. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the cucurbituril is selected from CB [8] and variants and derivatives thereof.

5. The capsule of claim 4 , wherein the cucurbituril is CB[8].

6. The capsule of claim 4 , wherein the cucurbituril forms a ternary complex with a first guest molecule and a second guest molecule, and the first and second guest molecules are selected from the following pairs:
viologen and naphthol;
viologen and dihydroxybenzene;
viologen and tetrathiafulvalene;
viologen and indole;
methylviologen and naphthol;
methylviologen and dihydroxybenzene;
methylviologen and tetrathiafulvalene;
methylviologen and indole;
N,N′-dimethyldipyridyliumylethylene and naphthol;
N,N′-dimethyldipyridyliumylethylene and dihydroxybenzene;
N,N′-dimethyldipyridyliumylethylene and tetrathiafulvalene;
N,N′-dimethyldipyridyliumylethylene and indole;
2,7-dimethyldiazapyrenium and naphthol;
2,7-dimethyldiazapyrenium and dihydroxybenzene;
2,7-dimethyldiazapyrenium and tetrathiafulvalene; and
2,7-dimethyldiazapyrenium and indole.

7. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the first building block is a polymeric molecule.

8. The capsule of claim 7 , wherein the polymeric molecule is or comprises a poly(meth)acrylate-, a polystyrene- and/or a poly(meth)acrylamide polymer.

9. The capsule of claim 7 , wherein the polymeric molecule comprises a detectable label.

10. The capsule of claim 1 , wherein the second building block is a particle.

11. The capsule of claim 10 , wherein the particle is or comprises gold or silver or mixtures thereof.

12. The capsule according to claim 1 , wherein the capsule size is in range from 10 to 100μm in diameter.

13. The capsule according to claim 1 , wherein the capsule diameter has a relative standard deviation (RSD) of at most 10%.

14. The capsule according to claim 1 , wherein the shell pore size is in range 1 to 20 nm.

15. The capsule according to claim 1 , wherein the capsule encapsulates a component.

16. The capsule according to claim 15 , wherein the component is a biological molecule.

17. A method for the preparation of the capsule having a shell according to claim 1 , the method comprising the step of:
(i) contacting a flow of a first phase and a flow of a second phase in a channel, thereby to generate in the channel a dispersion of discrete regions of the second phase in the first phase, wherein the second phase comprises cucurbituril and one or more building blocks having suitable cucurbituril guest functionality suitable to form a supramolecular cross-linked network, thereby to form a capsule shell within the discrete region, wherein the first and second phases are immiscible; wherein
the host is cucurbituril and the one or more building blocks have suitable cucurbituril guest functionality, and
the shell is obtained from the complexation of (a) a composition comprising cucurbituril and (1) or (2) or (b) a composition comprising a plurality of covalently linked cucurbituril and (1), (2) or (3), wherein:
(1) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules and a second building block covalently linked to a plurality of second cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein a first guest molecule and a second guest molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex,
(2) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules and a plurality of second cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein a first and a second guest molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex and optionally the composition further comprises a second building block covalently linked to one or more third cucurbituril guest molecules, one or more fourth cucurbituril guest molecules or both, wherein a third and a fourth molecule together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and/or the first and fourth molecules together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and/or the second and third molecules together with cucurbituril are suitable for forming a ternary guest-host complex, and
(3) comprises a first building block covalently linked to a plurality of first cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein the first guest molecule together with the cucurbituril are suitable for forming a binary guest-host complex, optionally the composition further comprises a second building block covalently linked to one or more second cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein the second guest molecule together with the cucurbituril are suitable for forming a binary guest-host complex.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the composition further comprises a second building block covalently linked to one or more second cucurbituril guest molecules, wherein the second guest molecule together with the cucurbituril are suitable for forming a binary guest-host complex.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the second phase comprises

Assignees

• Scherman Oren Alexander
• Coulston Roger
• Abell Christopher
• Zhang Jing
• Cambridge Entpr Ltd

Inventors

• Scherman Oren Alexander
• Coulston Roger
• Abell Christopher
• Zhang Jing

Classifications

• A61K9/5031

  obtained otherwise than by reactions only involving carbon-to-carbon unsaturated bonds, e.g. polyethylene glycol, poly(lactide-co-glycolide) · CPC title

• C08G83/008

  Supramolecular polymers · CPC title

• A01N25/28

  Microcapsules {or nanocapsules} · CPC title

• B01J13/14 Primary

  Polymerisation; cross-linking · CPC title

• C11D17/0039

  Coated compositions or coated components in the compositions, (micro)capsules · CPC title