Encapsulation of actives for sustained release
Review article, 2013

Encapsulation of actives in miniature reservoirs, called microcapsules, is used for protection and in particular controlled release of the active. Regarding controlled release applications, the most common function of the microcapsule is to sustain or extend the release of the active. A number of encapsulation methodologies are available including; internal phase separation, interfacial polymerization, formation of multiple emulsions, Layer-by-Layer adsorption of polyelectrolytes and soft templating techniques, all of which are reviewed in this Perspective. The choice of method depends on the nature of the active (hydrophilic/hydrophobic, size, physical state) and on the intended release rate and release profile. Ways to manipulate the release of the active by tailoring the physicochemical properties of the microcapsule are reviewed. Moreover, appropriate diffusion models are introduced to describe the release profile from a variety of microcapsule morphologies, including Fickian diffusion models and Brownian motion, and the meaning and the misuse of the term ``zero-order release'' are briefly discussed.

Author

Markus Andersson Trojer

SuMo Biomaterials

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry

Lars Nordstierna

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry

Matias Nordin

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry

Magnus Nydén

SuMo Biomaterials

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry

Krister Holmberg

Chalmers, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Applied Surface Chemistry

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

1463-9076 (ISSN) 1463-9084 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 41 17727-17741

Subject Categories

Physical Chemistry

DOI

10.1039/c3cp52686k

More information

Latest update

7/15/2021