Destruction of polyelectrolyte microcapsules and release of FITC-dextran from them by the influence of sodium dodecyl sulfonate

Abstract Polyelectrolyte microcapsules can be applied as microcontainers for the delivery of a wide range of substances, and it is important to search for new methods for capsule destruction and releasing substances from them. In this work, we studied the possibility of using sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDS) for the release of fluorescein isothiocyanate—dextran from six-layer microcapsules composed of PAH and PSS. It was shown that the presence of SDS in the medium, at a concentration of 3000 μg/ml, leads to the destruction of polyelectrolyte microcapsules and the release of the substance from them (54% of the amount of the encapsulated substance), while the main part of the FITC-dextran released during the first hours of incubation. At an SDS concentration of 100 μg/ml, the substance released is uniform and is 44% in 24 h. At SDS concentrations from 50 to 100 μg/ml, the process of destruction of microcapsules proceeds more slowly. At SDS concentrations from 10 to 50 μg/ml, microcapsules are not degraded.