Patent Description:
In a broad business field of cosmetics, medicines, general house products, prints and others, various microcapsules encapsulating a fragrance material or a physiologically active substance therein have been developed and utilized.

For example, as a shell to constitute a microcapsule, an aminoplast resin such as a melamine resin or a polyurea/urethane resin has been used. However, microcapsules are unavoidable to discharge to the environment, and in recent years, they contribute to concerns called microplastics. Consequently, it is desired to develop microcapsules having high environmental compatibility instead of aminoplast resins.

Among them, a silica microcapsule having a shell containing silica as a constituent component (hereinafter, also referred to as "silica capsule") has attracted attention as a material that can be expected to have environmental compatibility. However, in order to incorporate such silica capsules stably and for a long period of time in preparations that contain a surfactant in a high concentration such as a liquid detergent or a fabric softener, shells are required to have high denseness. In addition, preparations have different pH and viscosity depending on the use thereof, and it is also desired that silica capsules can be incorporated in preparations having a wide range of physical properties.

Silica capsules are generally synthesized by sol-gel reaction of an alkoxysilane and/or an alkylalkoxysilane as a precursor. One problem of silica capsules is that the thickness of the shell is generally thin and the denseness of the shell against a surfactant is insufficient as compared with microcapsules containing an aminoplast resin as a component of the shell. To overcome the problem, investigations for improving the denseness of shells have been made.

For example, <CIT> (PTL <NUM>) describes a method for producing a microcapsule particle composition having an encapsulated core material inside a microcapsule shell, and describes production of a silica capsule particle composition having a strong shell by forming silica capsule particles containing a fragrance material as a core material and a cationic surfactant as an emulsifier followed by treating the silica capsule particles with polyethylene imine or the like.

<CIT> (PTL <NUM>) describes a method for preparing microcapsules having a sunscreen component or the like as a core, and describes production of capsules resistant to diffusion or transudation of an oily phase through microcapsules by using both a cationic surfactant and a nonionic surfactant and polymerizing a tetraalkoxysilane in a mode of ex-situ emulsified liquid polymerization.

<CIT> (PTL <NUM>) describes a method of improving the stability of an aqueous suspension of silicate shell microcapsules by adding a colloidal silicate sequestering agent to an aqueous suspension of silicate shell microcapsules and colloidal silicate particles.

<CIT> (PTL <NUM>) describes a method for forming active agent-containing microcapsules, and describes improvement of fragrance material retentiveness by using a fragrance material as an active agent component and a polyvinyl pyrrolidone as a polymer emulsifier and by using a blend of at least two silanes as a shell precursor.

<CIT> (PTL <NUM>) describes, for the purpose of providing a production method for microcapsules capable of retaining an organic compound of an effective ingredient such as a fragrance material for long period of time, a production method for microcapsules each having a core of an organic compound such as a fragrance material, and a first shell that encapsulates the core, and a second shell that encapsulates the first shell, which includes a first-stage sol-gel reaction where an organic phase containing an organic compound and a tetraalkoxysilane is emulsified in an aqueous phase containing a surfactant, followed by a second-stage sol-gel reaction where a tetraalkoxysilane is added to keep a pH lower than that in the first-stage sol-gel reaction, thereby producing silica capsules whose shell has high denseness.

The present invention relates to a method for producing microcapsules each having a shell that contains silica as a constituent component, and a core that contains at least one organic compound inside the shell, which includes:.

According to the techniques of PTLs <NUM> to <NUM>, when silica capsules are incorporated in a preparation containing a surfactant in a high concentration, the encapsulated component such as a fragrance material cannot be retained for a long period of time, and the dispersion stability of the silica capsules in various preparations is insufficient.

The technique of PTL <NUM> is for improving the denseness of shells by posttreatment after formation of silica capsule particles, while in the technique of PTL <NUM> where a colloidal silicate sequestering agent is not added, gelation occurs during high-temperature storage to give an unstable suspension, and according to these techniques, application of silica capsules to preparations is limited. The technique of PTL <NUM> where an organic compound such as a fragrance material that has a smaller oil/water surface tension and is more unstable in emulsification than a sunscreen component is used as an encapsulated component is still insufficient in point of long-term retentiveness of the encapsulated component.

The present invention relates to a method for producing microcapsules capable of retaining the encapsulated organic compound such as a fragrance material for a long period of time and excellent in dispersion stability even in various preparations.

The present inventors have found that, when the emulsifier for use for an emulsified liquid for sol-gel reaction contains a cationic surfactant and when the content of the emulsifier in the aqueous phase component of the emulsified liquid is controlled to be a predetermined amount or less, then silica capsules whose shell can have high denseness while securing stability of emulsified drops can be obtained. Further, the present inventors have noted that the resultant silica capsules are stably dispersible without gelation and can be stably blended in any preparations of acidic preparations, neutral preparations and alkaline preparations, and have found that there can be provided a method for producing microcapsules capable of retaining an encapsulated organic compound such as a fragrance material for a long period of time and excellent in dispersion stability in various preparations.

Specifically, the present invention relates to a method for producing microcapsules each having a shell that contains silica as a constituent component, and a core that contains at least one organic compound inside the shell, which includes:.

According to the present invention, there can be provided a method for producing microcapsules capable of retaining an encapsulated organic compound such as a fragrance material for a long period of time and excellent in dispersion stability in various preparations.

The production method for microcapsules of the present invention is a method for producing microcapsules (silica capsules) each having a shell that contains silica as a constituent component, and a core that contains at least one organic compound inside the shell, which includes:.

In the present invention, the "sol-gel reaction" means a reaction of forming silica that is a constituent component of a shell by hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction of a tetraalkoxysilane (namely, silica precursor) via a sol and gel state. Specifically, a tetraalkoxysilane is hydrolyzed and the silanol compound forms a siloxane oligomer by dehydrating condensation reaction and dealcoholating condensation reaction of silanol compound, and via further dehydrating condensation reaction, silica is formed.

In the present invention, "encapsulates the first shell" means to encapsulate the first shell of the silica capsules (<NUM>) formed in the step <NUM>, and also includes encapsulating the silica capsules (<NUM>).

Also in the present invention, the first shell formed in the step <NUM> is referred to as "the first shell", and the second shell formed in the step <NUM> is referred to as "the second shell".

In the present specification, the long-term retentiveness of the encapsulated organic compound may be referred to as "long-term retentiveness".

According to the production method of the present invention, there can be produced silica capsules capable of retaining an organic compound of an effective component such as a fragrance material for a long period of time and excellent in dispersion stability in various preparations. Though not clear, the reason can be considered as follows.

The kind and the amount of the emulsifier in the emulsified liquid to be subjected to sol-gel reaction are considered to have a great influence on the dispersion stability of the emulsified liquid containing the encapsulated organic compound and tetraalkoxysilane and on the denseness of the silica shell formed in the subsequent step <NUM> and step <NUM>. With that, it is considered that the cationic surfactant promotes silica shell formation, but by performing the sol-gel reaction using a smaller amount of the cationic surfactant, the denseness of the silica shells to constitute the resultant silica capsules can improve. Consequently, when the emulsifier used in the step <NUM> contains a cationic surfactant and when the content of the emulsifier in the aqueous phase component is controlled to be a predetermined value or less, then the number of the emulsifier micelles not containing an organic compound in the aqueous phase can be reduced, the adsorption amount of silica sol to the emulsifier micelles can be reduced, and the silica sol can be efficiently adsorbed to the emulsion drops, and accordingly as a result, the shell denseness can be thereby improved.

In addition, when the content of the emulsifier in the aqueous phase component is controlled to be a predetermined value or less, formation of emulsifier micelles can be prevented and formation of colloidal silica caused by adsorption of silica sol to the emulsifier micelles can be thereby suppressed. As a result, it is also considered that gelation caused by instability of colloidal silica, for example, owing to alkali addition can also be suppressed and good dispersion stability in various preparations can be thereby maintained.

The step <NUM> is a step of emulsifying an aqueous phase component containing an emulsifier and an oily phase component containing at least one organic compound and a tetraalkoxysilane to give an emulsified liquid.

The emulsifier used in the step <NUM> contains a cationic surfactant.

The cationic surfactant includes an alkylamine salt, and an alkyl quaternary ammonium salt. The carbon number of alkyl group of the alkylamine salt and the alkyl quaternary ammonium salt is preferably <NUM> or more, more preferably <NUM> or more, even more preferably <NUM> or more, and is preferably <NUM> or less, more preferably <NUM> or less, even more preferably <NUM> or less.

The alkylamine salt includes an alkylamine acetate such as laurylamine acetate and stearylamine acetate.

The quaternary ammonium salt incudes an alkyltrimethylammonium salt, a dialkyldialkylammonium salt and an alkylbenzyldimethylammonium salt.

The alkyltrimethylammonium salt includes an alkyltrimethylammonium chloride such as lauryltrimethylammonium chloride, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride and stearyltrimethylammonium chloride; and an alkyltrimethylammonium bromide such as lauryltrimethylammonium bromide, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and stearyltrimethylammonium bromide.

The dialkyldimethylammonium salt includes a dialkyldimethylammonium chloride such as distearyldimethylammonium chloride; and a dialkyldimethylammonium bromide such as distearyldimethylammonium bromide.

The alkylbenzyldimethylammonium salt includes an alkylbenzyldimethylammonium chloride and an alkylbenzyldimethylammonium bromide.

Among these, the cationic surfactant is preferably a quaternary ammoniums salt, more preferably an alkyltrimethylammonium salt, even more preferably an alkyltrimethylammonium chloride, further more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of lauryltrimethylammonium chloride, stearyltrimethylammonium chloride and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, further more preferably cetyltrimethylammonium chloride.

The emulsifier for use in the step <NUM> may further contain any other emulsifier in addition to the cationic surfactant, within a range not detracting from the advantageous effects of the present invention. The other emulsifier includes a polymer dispersant, a nonionic surfactant, an anionic surfactant, and an ampholytic surfactant. Above all, at least one selected from the group consisting of a polymer dispersant and a nonionic surfactant is preferred.

The polymer dispersant includes, from the viewpoint of adsorbing to an oil/water interface and a solid/liquid interface to improve the dispersion stability of emulsified drops, a polyvinyl alcohol; a polyvinyl pyrrolidone; and a cellulosic polymer, such as methyl cellulose and ethyl cellulose, a hydroxyalkyl cellulose such as hydroxyethyl cellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose, and a carboxyalkyl cellulose such as carboxymethyl cellulose and carboxyethyl cellulose.

The nonionic surfactant includes a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether having <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less carbon atoms; a polyoxyethylene alkyl phenyl ether having <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less carbon atoms; a polyoxyethylene polyoxypropylene glycol having <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less carbon atoms; a sorbitan fatty acid ester such as sorbitan monostearate and sorbitan monopalmitate; and a sucrose fatty acid ester such as a sugar ester.

In the step <NUM>, the content of the cationic surfactant in the emulsifier is, from the viewpoint of promoting shell formation in the step <NUM> to improve long-term retentiveness and dispersion stability of silica capsules, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, and is preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass.

In the step <NUM>, the content of the polymer dispersant in the emulsifier is, from the viewpoint of promoting shell formation in the step <NUM> to improve long-term retentiveness and dispersion stability of silica capsules, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, and is further more preferably <NUM>% by mass, that is, preferably, a polymer dispersant is not added in the step <NUM>.

In the case of using a polymer dispersant, from the viewpoint of promoting shell formation in the step <NUM> to improve long-term retentiveness and dispersion stability of silica capsules, preferably the polymer dispersant is added in and after the step <NUM> to be mentioned hereinunder.

In the step <NUM>, the content of the emulsifier in the aqueous phase component is, from the viewpoint of suppressing formation of emulsifier micelles not containing an organic compound owing to the excessive emulsifier not contributing to the dispersion stability of an emulsified liquid, to thereby promote shell formation, <NUM>% by mass or less, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, and is, from the viewpoint of dispersion stability of emulsified drops, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more.

In the step <NUM>, the content of the cationic surfactant in the aqueous phase component is, from the viewpoint of dispersion stability of emulsified drops, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, and is, from the viewpoint of suppressing formation of emulsifier micelles owing to the excessive emulsifier not contributing to the dispersion stability of an emulsified liquid, to thereby improve encapsulation efficiency, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less.

The amount to be added of the emulsifier is, from the viewpoint of forming a stable emulsified liquid, preferably <NUM> parts by mass or more relative to <NUM> parts by mass of the oily phase component used in the step <NUM>, more preferably <NUM> parts by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM> parts by mass or more, and is preferably <NUM> parts by mass or less, more preferably <NUM> parts by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM> parts by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM> parts by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM> part by mass or less.

The core of the silica capsule in the present invention contains at least one organic compound. The organic compound is preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material, a fragrance precursor, an oil (e.g., a moisturizer), an antioxidant, an antibacterial agent, a fertilizer, fibers (e.g., cloth), a surface modifier for skin and hair, a cooling sensation agent, a dye, a colorant, a silicone, a solvent, and an oil-soluble polymer, more preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material, a fragrance precursor, an oil, an antioxidant, an antibacterial agent, a fertilizer, a surface modifier, and a solvent, even more preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material, a fragrance modifier, an oil, an antioxidant and a solvent, further more preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material, a fragrance precursor and an oil, further more preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material, a fragrance precursor and a moisturizer, further more preferably at least one material selected from the group consisting of a fragrance material and a fragrance precursor.

One alone or two or more kinds of the organic compounds can be used either singly or as combined.

The fragrance precursor includes a compound that reacts with water to release a fragrance component, and a compound that reacts with light to release a fragrance component.

The compound that reacts with water to release a fragrance component includes a silicate ester compound having an alkoxy component derived from a fragrance alcohol, a fatty acid ester compound having an alkoxy component derived from a fragrance alcohol, an acetal compound or a hemiacetal compound obtained by reaction of a carbonyl component derived from a fragrance aldehyde or a fragrance ketone and an alcohol compound, a Schiff base compound obtained by reaction of a carbonyl component derived from a fragrance aldehyde or a fragrance ketone and a primary amine compound, and a hemiaminal compound or hydrazone compound obtained by reaction of a carbonyl component derived from a fragrance aldehyde or a fragrance ketone and a hydrazine compound.

The compound that reacts with light to release a fragrance component includes a <NUM>-nitrobenzyl ether compound having an alkoxy component derived from a fragrance alcohol, an α-keto-ester compound having a carbonyl component derived from a fragrance aldehyde or fragrance ketone, and a coumaric acid ester compound having an alkoxy compound derived from a fragrance alcohol. These fragrance precursors can be used as a polymer of, for example, a reaction product of some carboxy groups of a polyacrylic acid and a fragrance alcohol.

From the viewpoint of forming a stable emulsified liquid, the organic compound preferably has appropriate hydrophobicity. As an index to indicate the hydrophilicity or the hydrophobicity of the organic compound, employable is a cLogP value that is a calculated value of a common logarithm "logP" of a partition coefficient P between n-octanol and water (n-octanol/water). The cLogP value is a "LogP (cLogP)" that is calculated according to the method described in<NPL>, and is a cLogP value calculated by Program CLOGP v.

In the case where the organic compound is composed of plural constituent components, the cLogP value of the organic compound can be determined by multiplying the cLogP value of each constituent component by the volume ratio thereof, and summing up the resultant data.

The cLogP value of the organic compound is preferably <NUM> or more, more preferably <NUM> or more, even more preferably <NUM> or more, further more preferably <NUM> or more, and is preferably <NUM> or less, more preferably <NUM> or less, even more preferably <NUM> or less.

When the cLogP value of the organic compound is <NUM> or more, the encapsulation ratio of the organic compound in the silica capsules to be formed in the sol-gel reaction of the oil-in-water drops to be mentioned below (hereinafter this may also be referred to as "encapsulation ratio") increases. Also in the case where the organic compound is a fragrance material composition composed of plural fragrance material components and when the cLogP value of the fragrance material composition is <NUM> or more, the encapsulation ratio of the fragrance material composition in the silica capsules to be formed in the sol-gel reaction can also increase.

The amount of the oily phase component relative to the total amount of the emulsified liquid formed in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of production efficiency, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, and is, from the viewpoint of forming a stable emulsified liquid, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less.

The tetraalkoxysilane for use in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of promoting sol-gel reaction, preferably has an alkoxy group having <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less carbon atoms, and is more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of tetramethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane and tetraisopropoxysilane, even more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of tetramethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane, further more preferably tetraethoxysilane.

The amount to be added of the tetraalkoxysilane in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of forming a shell enough to sufficiently encapsulate the surfaces of the emulsified drops containing an organic compound, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more relative to the amount of the organic compound in the step <NUM>, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, and is, from the viewpoint of suppressing residues inside the oil drops to reduce the amount of excessive tetraalkoxysilane not contributing to shell formation, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less.

The step <NUM> preferably includes the following step <NUM>-<NUM> to step <NUM>-<NUM>.

Step <NUM>-<NUM>: a step of preparing an aqueous phase component containing an emulsifier.

Step <NUM>-<NUM>: a step of mixing at least one organic compound and a tetraalkoxysilane to prepare an oily phase component.

Step <NUM>-<NUM>: a step of mixing and emulsifying the aqueous phase component prepared in the step <NUM>-<NUM> and the oily phase component prepared in the step <NUM>-<NUM> to give an emulsified liquid.

Not specifically limited, the stirring means for use in mixing and emulsifying the aqueous phase component and the oily phase component may be a homogenizer having a strong shear force, a high-pressure disperser, and an ultrasonic disperser. In addition, a homomixer, "DISPER" (tradename, by PRIMIX Corporation), "CLEAMIX" (tradename, by M Technique Co. ), and "CAVITRON" (tradename, by Pacific Machinery & Engineering Co. ) can also be used.

The median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops in the emulsified liquid formed in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of reducing the specific surface area relative to the environment outside the silica capsules to improve long-term retentiveness, preferably <NUM> pm or more, more preferably <NUM> pm or more, even more preferably <NUM> pm or more, further more preferably <NUM> pm o more, further more preferably <NUM> pm or more, and is, from the viewpoint of the physical strength of silica capsules, preferably <NUM> pm or less, more preferably <NUM> pm or less, even more preferably <NUM> pm or less, further more preferably <NUM> pm or less, further more preferably <NUM> pm or less, further preferably less than <NUM> pm.

The median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops can be measured according to the method described in the section of Examples.

The step <NUM> is a step of subjecting the emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM> to a sol-gel reaction under an acidic condition to form silica capsules (<NUM>) each having a core and a first shell containing silica as a constituent component, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing the silica capsules (<NUM>).

The initial pH in the sol-gel reaction in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of keeping the balance between hydrolysis reaction and condensation reaction of tetraalkoxysilane and from the viewpoint of suppressing formation of a sol having high hydrophilicity to promote encapsulation, preferably <NUM> or more, more preferably <NUM> or more, even more preferably <NUM> or more, and is, from the viewpoint of suppressing parallel occurrence of silica shell formation and aggregation of emulsified drops to give silica capsules each having a dense shell, preferably <NUM> or less, more preferably <NUM> or less, even more preferably <NUM> or less.

From the viewpoint of controlling the desired initial pH depending on the acidic or alkaline intensity of the oily phase component containing an organic compound, an arbitrary acidic or alkaline pH regulator can be used.

pH of the emulsified liquid could not reach a desired value. In such a case, preferably, an alkaline pH regulator to be mentioned below is used for pH control.

Specifically, the step <NUM> may preferably include the following step <NUM>-<NUM>.

Step <NUM>-<NUM>: a step of controlling the pH of the emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM>, using a pH regulator.

The acidic pH regulator includes an inorganic acid such as hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, and sulfuric acid, an organic acid such as acetic acid, and citric acid, and a liquid prepared by adding a cation exchange resin in water or methanol, and is preferably hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, or citric acid.

The alkaline pH regulator includes sodium hydroxide, sodium hydrogencarbonate, potassium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, diethanolamine, triethanolamine, and trishydroxymethylaminomethane, and is preferably sodium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide.

The reaction temperature of the sol-gel reaction in the step <NUM> can be arbitrarily selected in a range of the melting point of water contained as the aqueous phase or higher and the boiling point thereof or lower, but is, from the viewpoint of controlling the balance between hydrolysis reaction and condensation reaction in the sol-gel reaction to form a dense shell, preferably <NUM> or higher, more preferably <NUM> or higher, even more preferably <NUM> or higher, further more preferably <NUM> or higher, and is preferably <NUM> or lower, more preferably <NUM> or lower, even more preferably <NUM> or lower.

The step <NUM> is a step of further adding a tetraalkoxysilane to the aqueous dispersion containing the silica capsules (<NUM>) formed in the step <NUM>, and subjecting the obtained mixture to sol-gel reaction to form silica capsules each having a second shell that encapsulates the first shell.

Tetraalkoxysilane for use in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of promoting sol-gel reaction, preferably one having an alkoxy group having <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less carbon atoms, more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of tetramethoxysilane, tetraethoxysilane and tetraisopropoxysilane, even more preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of tetramethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane, further more preferably tetraethoxysilane.

The amount to be added of the tetraalkoxysilane in the step <NUM> is, from the viewpoint of forming the second shell to encapsulate the first shell, preferably <NUM>% by mass or more relative to the amount of the organic compound in the step <NUM>, more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or more, and is, from the viewpoint of suppressing formation of silica sol to disperse in the aqueous phase to improve the dispersion stability of silica capsule, preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, mor preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, even more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less, further more preferably <NUM>% by mass or less.

In the step <NUM>, the tetraalkoxysilane to be added to the aqueous dispersion containing the silica capsules (<NUM>) formed in the step <NUM> can be added all at a time, or can be added intermittently as divided in portions, or can be added continuously, but from the viewpoint of forming the second shell having high denseness, it is preferred that it is continuously dropwise added.

In the case where tetraalkoxysilane is continuously dropwise added, the dropwise addition time can be appropriately set depending on the production scale, but is, from the viewpoint of preventing separation of the tetraalkoxysilane added and the aqueous dispersion, preferably <NUM> minutes or more, more preferably <NUM> minutes or more, even more preferably <NUM> minutes or more, and is, from the viewpoint of shortening the reaction time to increase the denseness of the second shell to be formed, preferably <NUM> minutes or less, more preferably <NUM> minutes or less, even more preferably <NUM> minutes or less.

The reaction temperature of the sol-gel reaction in the step <NUM> can be arbitrarily selected in a range of the melting point of water contained as the dispersion medium or higher and the boiling point thereof or lower, but is, from the viewpoint of controlling the balance between hydrolysis reaction and condensation reaction in the sol-gel reaction to form a dense shell, preferably <NUM> or higher, more preferably <NUM> or higher, even more preferably <NUM> or higher, further more preferably <NUM> or higher, and is preferably <NUM> or lower, more preferably <NUM> or lower, even more preferably <NUM> or lower.

The sol-gel reaction in the step <NUM> and the sol-gel reaction in the step <NUM> can be carried out at the same reaction temperature or can be carried out at different reaction temperatures.

The microcapsules (silica capsules) in the present invention are obtained as an aqueous dispersion thereof dispersed in water. In accordance with the use of the silica capsules, the aqueous dispersion can be used directly as it is, but depending on the use thereof, the silica capsules can be separated from the aqueous dispersion. As the method for separation, a filtration method or a centrifugal method can be employed.

The silica capsules in the present invention are silica capsules each having a core that contains the above-mentioned organic compound, a first shell that encapsulates the core, and a second shell that encapsulates the first shell.

The first shell of the silica capsules in the present invention encapsulates a core and contains silica as a constituent component and preferably has an average thickness of <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less, and the second shell encapsulates the first shell and contains silica as a constituent component and preferably has an average thickness of <NUM> or more and <NUM> or less.

The average thickness of the first shell and the second shell of the silica capsules in the present invention can be measured by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Specifically, under observation with a transmission electron microscope, the thickness of the first shell and the second shell is measured on the photographic image. This operation is carried out in different five view fields. From the resultant data, the average thickness distribution of the first shell and the second shell is determined. As a rough indication, the transmission electron microscope has a magnification of <NUM>,<NUM> times or more and <NUM>,<NUM> times or less, but can be appropriately controlled depending on the size of the silica capsules. Here, as a transmission electron microscope (TEM), for example, "JEM-<NUM>" (tradename by JEOL Corporation) can be used.

The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules in the present invention is, from the viewpoint of improving long-term retentiveness and improving the dispersion stability of the silica capsules, preferably <NUM> pm or more, more preferably <NUM> pm or more, even more preferably <NUM> pm or more, and is, from the viewpoint of improving the physical strength of the silica capsules to improve long-term retentiveness, preferably <NUM> pm or less, more preferably <NUM> pm or less, even more preferably <NUM> pm or less.

The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules can be measured according to the method described in the section of Examples.

The silica capsules in the present invention can be suitably used in various applications, for example, as cosmetic materials such as milk, cosmetic fluid, lotion, essence liquid, cream, gel formulation, hair treatment agent, and quasi-drugs, fiber treatment agents such as detergent, softener, and antiwrinkle spray, hygiene products such as paper diaper, and aromatic materials.

The silica capsules in the present invention can be used as contained or blended in a composition such as a detergent composition, a fiber treatment composition, a cosmetic composition, an aromatic composition, and a deodorant composition. The composition is preferably a detergent composition such as a powdery detergent composition, and a liquid detergent composition; and a fiber treatment composition such as a softener composition, more preferably a fiber treatment composition, even more preferably a softener composition.

Regarding the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention further discloses the following production method for microcapsules.

Various measurements in Examples and Comparative Examples were according to the following methods.

The median diameter D<NUM> of emulsified drops and the median diameter D<NUM> of silica capsules were measured using a laser diffraction/scattering particle size distribution analyzer "LA-<NUM>" (trade name by Horiba, Ltd. The measurement was performed using a flow cell, and water was used as a medium. A refractive index was set to <NUM>-<NUM>-i for a dispersoid. An emulsion or an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules was added to the flow cell, and the measurement was carried out at a concentration at which a transmittance thereof was near <NUM>%, to determine the median diameter D<NUM> based on the volume.

A model fragrance material A (volume-average cLogP: <NUM>. specific gravity: <NUM>), a model fragrance material B (volume-average cLogP: <NUM>, specific gravity: <NUM>) and a model fragrance material C (volume-average cLogP: <NUM>, specific gravity: <NUM>) each having the composition shown in Table <NUM> to Table <NUM>, respectively, were used as the organic compound to be encapsulated in silica capsules. The volume-average cLogP value of the model fragrance material was calculated by multiplying the cLogP values of all the fragrance components in the model fragrance material by the volume ratio thereof in the model fragrance material and summing up the resultant data.

<NUM> of ΓaUARTAMIN 60W (tradename by Kao Corporation, cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (hereinafter expressed as "CTAC"), active ingredient: <NUM>% by mass) was diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material A and <NUM> of tetraethoxysilane (hereinafter expressed as "TEOS") was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using a homomixer (by HsiangTai, Model: HM-<NUM>) set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM> pm.

The emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM> was controlled to have a pH of <NUM> using <NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N sodium hydroxide, then transferred to a separable flask equipped with a stirring blade and a cooling device, and while the liquid temperature was kept at <NUM>, this was stirred at <NUM> rpm for <NUM> hours to give an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) each having a core of the model fragrance material A and a first shell of silica.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (A-<NUM>) where the model fragrance material A was encapsulated with amorphous silica. The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules (A-<NUM>) was <NUM> pm.

<NUM> of ΓaUARTAMIN 60W was diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material A and <NUM> of TEOS was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using the above-mentioned homomixer set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM>.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (A-<NUM>) where the model fragrance material A was encapsulated with amorphous silica. The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules (A-<NUM>) was <NUM>.

<NUM> of ΓaUARTAMIN 60W was diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material A and <NUM> of TEOS was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using the homomixer set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM>.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (A-<NUM>) where the model fragrance material A was encapsulated with amorphous silica.

<NUM> of ΓaUARTAMIN 60W was diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material A and <NUM> of TEOS was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using the homomixer set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM>. <NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the emulsified liquid, and diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water added thereto.

The emulsified liquid diluted in the step <NUM> was controlled to have a pH of <NUM> using <NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N sodium hydroxide, then transferred to a separable flask equipped with a stirring blade and a cooling device, and while the liquid temperature was kept at <NUM>, this was stirred at <NUM> rpm for <NUM> hours to give an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) each having a core of the model fragrance material A and a first shell of silica.

<NUM> of ΓaUARTAMIN 60W was diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material B and <NUM> of TEOS was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using the homomixer set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM>. <NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the emulsified liquid, and diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water added thereto.

The emulsified liquid diluted in the step <NUM> was controlled to have a pH of <NUM> using <NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N hydrochloric acid, then transferred to a separable flask equipped with a stirring blade and a cooling device, and while the liquid temperature was kept at <NUM>, this was stirred at <NUM> rpm for <NUM> hours to give an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) each having a core of the model fragrance material B and a first shell of silica.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (B-<NUM>) where the model fragrance material B was encapsulated with amorphous silica. The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules (B-<NUM>) was <NUM>.

The emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM> was controlled to have a pH of <NUM> using <NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N sodium hydroxide, then transferred to a separable flask equipped with a stirring blade and a cooling device, and while the liquid temperature was kept at <NUM>, this was stirred at <NUM> rpm for <NUM> hours to give an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-C1) each having a core of the model fragrance material A and a first shell of silica.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (A-C1) where the model fragrance material A was encapsulated with amorphous silica.

In the same manner as in Example <NUM>, except that the step <NUM> was omitted in Example <NUM>, an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) was prepared. The aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) was used in the following evaluation. The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules (<NUM>-<NUM>) was <NUM>.

<NUM> of QUARTAMIN 60W and <NUM> of a polyvinyl alcohol (tradename "Gohsenol GH20", by Nihon Gosei Kako Co. ) (hereinafter expressed as "PVA") were diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water to prepare an aqueous phase component. An oily phase component prepared by mixing <NUM> of the model fragrance material B and <NUM> of TEOS was added to the aqueous phase component, and the mixture liquid was emulsified using the homomixer set at a rotation number of <NUM>,<NUM> rpm to give an emulsified liquid. At that time, the median diameter D<NUM> of the emulsified drops was <NUM>.

The emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM> was controlled to have a pH of <NUM> using <NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N hydrochloric acid, then transferred to a separable flask equipped with a stirring blade and a cooling device, and while the liquid temperature was kept at <NUM>, this was stirred at <NUM> rpm for <NUM> hours to give an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (<NUM>-C4) each having a core of the model fragrance material B and a first shell of silica.

<NUM> was sampled from the total, <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion prepared in the step <NUM>, and while this was kept stirred at a liquid temperature of <NUM>, <NUM> of TEOS was dropwise added thereto taking <NUM> minutes. After the dropwise addition, this was kept stirred for further <NUM> hours, and then cooled to form a second shell encapsulating the first shell, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules (B-C4) where the model fragrance material B was encapsulated with amorphous silica. The median diameter D<NUM> of the silica capsules (B-C4) was <NUM>.

Each aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules formed in Examples and Comparative Examples was added to a softener base material having the composition shown in the following Table <NUM> to prepare a softener for evaluation. The content of the encapsulated fragrance material was controlled to be <NUM>% by mass.

The softener for evaluation prepared in the above (<NUM>) was put into a screw tube, sealed up therein and stored at <NUM>. Immediately after the start of storage and after storage for a long period of time (<NUM> days after the start of storage), the fragrance material retention rate of the fragrance material component was measured according to the following method. The results are shown in Table <NUM> to Table <NUM>. A higher fragrance material retention rate after long-term storage indicates more excellent long-term retentiveness.

Immediately after the start of storage or <NUM> days after the start of storage, the screw tube was taken out, and <NUM> of the softener for evaluation was scooped out with a syringe, diluted with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water, and then made to pass through a membrane filter (by Millipore Corporation, tradename "Omnipore", Model Code "JAWP04700") to collect the silica capsules on the membrane filter.

Further, on the membrane filter, the silica capsules were washed with <NUM> of ion-exchanged water and then with <NUM> of hexane, and the silica capsules were immersed in <NUM> of acetonitrile containing an internal standard, tridecane in a concentration of <NUM>µg/ml, and irradiated with ultrasonic waves for <NUM> minutes using an ultrasonic irradiator (by Branson Corporation, Model "<NUM>") under the condition of an output of <NUM> W and an oscillation frequency of <NUM> to thereby elute the fragrance material out of the silica capsules. The resultant solution was again made to pass through a membrane filter (by Toyo Roshi Kaisha, Ltd. , tradename "DISMIC", Model Code "13JP020AN"), and thereafter the fragrance material component contained in the solution was identified through gas chromatography to determine the amount α of the fragrance material component encapsulated in the silica capsules. The fragrance material retention rate was calculated according to the following formula.

The amount β of the fragrance material component in the above formula was calculated from the formulation of the model fragrance material, the encapsulation ratio of each fragrance material component, and the blending amount of the silica capsules used in preparing the softener.

From Table <NUM> and Table <NUM>, it is known that, in the silica capsules formed in Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, more than half of the blended fragrance material components were retained in the silica capsules even after long-term storage, that is, the silica capsules are excellent in long-term retentiveness, as compared with those in Comparative Examples <NUM> to <NUM>.

<NUM> of an aqueous solution of <NUM> N sodium hydroxide was added to <NUM> of the aqueous dispersion containing silica capsules formed in Examples <NUM> to <NUM> and Comparative Example <NUM>, and then held at room temperature to check for the presence or absence of flowability of the dispersion. In Examples <NUM> to <NUM>, the dispersion did not gel and kept flowability. On the other hand, in Comparative Example <NUM>, the dispersion geld and lost flowability within <NUM> minutes after addition of the aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide.

From this, it is known that the silica capsules produced according to the production method of the present invention have high dispersion stability against alkali.

Claim 1:
A method for producing microcapsules each having a shell that comprises silica as a constituent component, and a core that comprises at least one organic compound inside the shell, which comprises:
Step <NUM>: a step of emulsifying an aqueous phase component comprising an emulsifier and an oily phase component comprising at least one organic compound and a tetraalkoxysilane to give an emulsified liquid,
Step <NUM>: a step of subjecting the emulsified liquid prepared in the step <NUM> to a sol-gel reaction under an acidic condition to form microcapsules (<NUM>) each having a core and a first shell comprising silica as a constituent component, thereby giving an aqueous dispersion comprising the microcapsules (<NUM>), and
Step <NUM>: a step of further adding a tetraalkoxysilane to the aqueous dispersion comprising the microcapsules (<NUM>) formed in the step <NUM>, and subjecting the obtained mixture to sol-gel reaction to form microcapsules each having a second shell that encapsulates the first shell, wherein:
the emulsifier used in the step <NUM> comprises a cationic surfactant, and
the content of the emulsifier in the aqueous phase component in the step <NUM> is <NUM>% by mass or less.