Conditions for preparing tiny biodegradable capsules were examined using electrocapillary emulsification that allows one to prepare monodisperse emulsions with ease by applying a DC potential between oil and water phases without mechanical agitation. The results obtained showed that a 1 : 4 mixture of polysorbate 80 (TO-10), a hydrophilic non-ionic surfactant, and sorbitan monooleate (SO-10), an oleophilic surfactant, is appropriate as the surfactant to be added to oil phase, cyclohexane is acceptable as the oil phase and 1000 V is optimum as the DC potential to be applied. The capsules prepared had sizes ranging from 100-300 nm and a surface roughness of approximately 10 nm and degraded in model intestinal juice more easily and rapidly than in model gastric juice. In addition, the capsules containing lactoferrin, an anti-carcinogenic protein, were found to keep 12.5% of the protein used in encapsulation without losing its activity.

This paper deals with a novel preparation method of nanocapsules with alginate/polylysine complex wall. The preparation method consisted of the following steps: dispersion of an aqueous sodium alginate solution into cyclohexane to give a W/O emulsion, preparation of calcium alginate gel beads by adding the emulsion into a calcium aerosol OT solution in cyclohexane, and alginate/polylysine complex wall formation on the surface of calcium alginate beads by adding the beads into an aqueous poly-L-lysine solution. The size of alginate/polylysine complex capsules thus prepared was found to be 100-500 nm. Moreover, an attempt was made to prepare much smaller capsules using a laboratory-made apparatus for electrocapillary emulsification and the capsule size could be reduced to about 40 nm.