Polyelectrolyte capsules for controlled binding/release of fluorescent probe

Abstract

Nanocapsules containing pyrene, a fluorescent probe, are formed on micelles of a cationic surfactant by layer-by-layer deposition of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes (polyacrylic acid/ polyethyleneimine). Approaches, which allow to evaluate the release time of pyrene from the capsules are developed. The synthesized capsules make it possible to slow down the deactivation process of the excited pyrene molecule by almost an order of magnitude by adding a quenching compound to the bulk medium and through that, prolong its operation as fluorescent probe.