The invention provides a droplet encapsulate comprising: a drop of a hydrophobic medium; a peripheral layer of non-polymeric amphipathic molecules around the surface of the drop; and an aqueous droplet within the peripheral layer, the aqueous droplet comprising: (a) an aqueous medium and (b) an outer layer of non-polymeric amphipathic molecules around the surface of the aqueous medium. The invention also provides processes for preparing the droplet encapsulates. Various uses of the droplet encapsulates are also described, including their use as drug delivery vehicles, in synthetic biology, and in the study of membrane proteins.

A composition, method, and article of manufacture are disclosed. The microcapsule includes a polymer shell encapsulating a core component. The polymer shell includes light upconversion molecules. The article of manufacture includes the microcapsule. The method includes obtaining light upconversion molecules having sidechains with reactive functional groups, and forming a microcapsule. The microcapsule includes a polymer shell encapsulating a core component. The polymer shell includes light upconversion molecules. The article of manufacture includes the microcapsule.

The invention describes a method for the synthesis of compounds comprising the steps of: (a) compartmentalising two or more sets of primary compounds into microcapsules; such that a proportion of the microcapsules contains two or more compounds; and (b) forming secondary compounds in the microcapsules by chemical reactions between primary compounds from different sets; wherein one or both of steps (a) and (b) is performed under microfluidic control; preferably electronic microfluidic control, The invention further allows for the identification of compounds which bind to a target component of a biochemical system or modulate the activity of the target, and which is co-compartmentalised into the microcapsules.

A microcapsule, in particular of spherical shape, having a hollow capsule core encased by a capsule shell, characterized in that the capsule shell is at least partially made of hydrated cementitious material. A method for the production of a microcapsule includes the steps of: a) preparing of a suspension of particulate cementitious material in a solvent b) preparing a dispersion by mixing the suspension of step a) with an immiscible fluid so that (i) the suspension is present as a dispersed phase in the fluid as a dispersion medium or that (ii) the fluid is present as the dispersed phase in the suspension as the dispersion medium, such that the particulate material of the suspension adsorbs at least partially at a phase boundary between the fluid and the suspension, and c) allowing the particulate material adsorbed at the phase boundary to hydrate with the formation of an individual microcapsule.

A system and method are presented for producing metallic core-shell particles. The system includes the housing having a hollow interior configured to receive and hold a molten metal input, a carrier fluid, and one or more reagents. The system also includes a shearing assembly positioned within the hollow interior of the housing. The shearing assembly is configured to, when the molten metal input, carrier fluid, and one or more reagents are held withing hollow interior and sealed within housing, shear the molten metal input into particles of an effective size so that a shell created on a surface of the particles via reaction with the one or more reagents prevents a core of the particles from solidifying when the particles are cooled to a temperature below a freezing temperature of the molten metal input.

A dispersion of capsules in critical or supercritical carbon dioxide is provided. The capsules include an aqueous solution encapsulated by covalent organic framework particles. Also provided is a method of making a dispersion of aqueous solution capsules. The method includes providing a medium of critical or supercritical carbon dioxide, introducing the aqueous solution into the critical or supercritical carbon dioxide medium, and introducing a covalent organic framework particle into the critical or supercritical carbon dioxide medium. Associated methods of using the disclosed dispersions in hydrocarbon-bearing formations are also provided.

A method for controlling the encapsulation efficiency and burst release of water soluble molecules from nanoparticle and microparticle formulations produced by the inverted Flash NanoPrecipitation (iFNP) process and subsequent processing steps is presented. The processing steps and materials used can be adjusted to tune the encapsulation efficiency and burst release of the encapsulated water-soluble material. The encapsulation efficiency of the soluble agent in the particles and the burst release of the soluble agent from the particles can be controlled by: (1) the copolymers used in the assembly or coating process, (2) the degree of crosslinking of the nanoparticle core, (3) the incorporation of small molecule or polymeric additives, and/or (4) the processing and release conditions employed.

A method for controlling the encapsulation efficiency and burst release of water soluble molecules from nanoparticle and microparticle formulations produced by the inverted Flash NanoPrecipitation (iFNP) process and subsequent processing steps is presented. The processing steps and materials used can be adjusted to tune the encapsulation efficiency and burst release of the encapsulated water-soluble material. The encapsulation efficiency of the soluble agent in the particles and the burst release of the soluble agent from the particles can be controlled by: (1) the copolymers used in the assembly or coating process, (2) the degree of crosslinking of the nanoparticle core, (3) the incorporation of small molecule or polymeric additives, and/or (4) the processing and release conditions employed.

The invention describes a method for the synthesis of compounds comprising the steps of: (a) compartmentalising two or more sets of primary compounds into microcapsules; such that a proportion of the microcapsules contains two or more compounds; and (b) forming secondary compounds in the microcapsules by chemical reactions between primary compounds from different sets; wherein one or both of steps (a) and (b) is performed under microfluidic control; preferably electronic microfluidic control The invention further allows for the identification of compounds which bind to a target component of a biochemical system or modulate the activity of the target, and which is co-compartmentalised into the microcapsules.

A microchannel device, including a homogenization chamber, a deceleration-cooling channel, an acidity regulation channel, a microchannel reaction chamber, and an ultrafiltration desalination chamber. A method for preparing high-oil-load microcapsules using the aforementioned microchannel device, including: preparing an aqueous phase and an oil phase; feeding the aqueous phase and the oil phase to the homogenization chamber to form a first emulsion; cooling the first emulsion; adjusting pH of the first emulsion with dilute hydrochloric acid; feeding the first emulsion to the microchannel reaction chamber to form a second emulsion with a core-shell structure; removing Na.sup.+ and Cl.sup.− from the second emulsion; and subjecting the second emulsion to spray drying to obtain the high-oil-load microcapsule powder.