Incorporation of chitosan in microcapsule wall

1. A population of microcapsules comprising a core material surrounded by a wall material comprising the reaction product of firstly a polysaccharide having pendant amine groups reactive with an initiator of formula 1, and secondly at least one multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomer free radically polymerized with the same initiator of formula 1

wherein each R is independently selected from hydrogen, C 1 to C 8 alkyl, or a cyano group; wherein each y is independently an integer from 1 to 8.

2. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 wherein the polysaccharide is chitosan.

3. The population of microcapsules according to claim 2 wherein the chitosan has a degree of deacetylation of at least 50%.

4. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 wherein the wall material comprises greater than 50 wt % of multifunctional (meth)acrylate.

5. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 wherein the multifunctional (meth)acrylate is selected from the group consisting of di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, or octa-functional acrylate or methacrylate esters, multi-functional urethane acrylate or methacrylate esters, and epoxy acrylates or methacrylates.

6. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 wherein the wall material comprises 0.1 to 20% by weight polysaccharide.

7. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 wherein the wall material comprises a polymer obtained by polymerization of:

0.1 to 80% by weight of multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomer;

0.1 to 60% by weight of the polysaccharide; and

0.1 to 30% by weight of the initiator of formula 1.

8. The population of microcapsules according to claim 1 comprising in addition an aqueous medium into which the microcapsules are dispersed forming a slurry, said slurry having a zeta potential greater than 0 millivolts when measured at a pH of 5.

9. A process of forming a population of microcapsules comprising a core material, and a wall material surrounding the core material, the wall material comprising the reaction product of a polysaccharide having one or more amine groups, and a multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomer, the microcapsule population formed by:

providing a water phase comprising a polysaccharide having a pendant amine group and a first initiator of formula 1,

wherein each R is independently selected from hydrogen, C 1 to C 8 alkyl, or a cyano group; wherein each y is independently an integer from 1 to 8,

the first initiator having a carboxyl functional group and a free radical azonitrile moiety;

providing an oil phase and dispersing or dissolving a core material into the oil phase;

dispersing a multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomer, and optionally a second initiator, into the oil phase;

combining the oil phase with the water phase; and

heating or exposing to actinic radiation the combined oil phase and water phase, to activate the initiator of the water phase to generate free radicals and to polymerize the multifunctional methacrylate monomer, and adjusting the pH such that the carboxyl functional group of the first initiator reacts with the amine groups of the polysaccharide.

10. A process for forming a population of microcapsules comprising a core material, chitosan and a (meth)acrylate wall material surrounding the core material, the microcapsule population being formed by:

providing a benefit agent core material comprising an oil soluble fluid material or oil-dispersible solid particle dispersed in an oil soluble fluid material;

providing an oil internal phase comprising a diluent;

dividing the oil internal phase into oil 1 and oil 2;

dispersing into an oil 1 an initiator;

dispersing into an oil 2 a multifunctional (meth)acrylate monomer or oligomer, and optimally one or more acrylates selected from the group consisting of monofunctional acrylates, difunctional (meth)acrylate esters and polyfunctional (meth)acrylate esters, and dispersing into oil 2 an oil soluble fluid core material or oil-dispersible solid particle core material dispersed in a fluid core material;

heating or exposing to actinic radiation sufficiently to activate the initiator of oil 1;

combining oil 1 and oil 2 forming a combined oil continuous internal phase and allowing reaction to proceed for a time sufficient to pre-polymerize the multifunctional monomers or oligomers from oil 2;

providing a water phase comprising chitosan and a water soluble or dispersible initiator of formula 1

wherein each R is independently selected from hydrogen, C 1 to C 8 alkyl, or a cyano group; wherein each y is independently an integer from 1 to 8;

heating or exposing to actinic radiation sufficiently to activate the initiator of the water phase;

forming a chitosan and (meth)acrylate mixture by dispersing the combined oil internal phase into the water phase;

emulsifying the chitosan and (meth)acrylate mixture by subjecting the mixture to high shear agitation;

heating or exposing to actinic radiation the chitosan and (meth)acrylate mixture for a time and temperature sufficient whereby the multifunctional (meth)acrylate and chitosan bond and migrate to the interface of the oil and water phases thereby surrounding the core material in the oil phase and forming wall material.

11. The process according to claim 10 wherein the initiator according to formula 1 is 4,4′-azobis (4-cyanopentanoic acid).

12. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan has a degree of deacetylation of at least 75%.

13. The process according to claim 10 wherein the microcapsule wall contains 0.01 to 14% by weight of chitosan.

14. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan is partially deacetylated.

15. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan is a D, L lactic acid chitosan.

16. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan is a glycolic acid chitosan.

17. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan is selected from the group of water soluble chitosans selected from glycerol chitosan, hydrolyzed chitosan, n-hydroxypropyl chitosan, polyoxyalkylene chitosan, and chitosan oligosaccharide.

18. The process according to claim 10 wherein the chitosan is comprised of D-glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine moieties, and the ratio of D-glucosamine to N-acetyl glucosamine is 3:1 or greater.

19. The process according to claim 10 wherein the oil internal phase is isopropyl myristate.

20. The process according to claim 10 wherein the core material is selected from a biological active, a dye, a perfume, a fragrance, a phase change material, a lubricant, or a chromogen.

21. The process according to claim 10 wherein the multifunctional (meth)acrylate is selected from the group consisting of mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, or octa-functional acrylate or methacrylate esters, multi-functional urethane acrylate or methacrylate esters, and epoxy acrylates or methacrylates.