Polymer multilayer microcapsules have attracted considerable attention as smart delivery vehicles since the time they emerged in 1990s. 1-5 mm capsules tailor made via Layer-by-Layer adsorption of complementary macromolecules have been proved to have a number of benefits for biomedical applications. I. e., capsules assembled of biopolymers are usually non- or low cytotoxic; a variety of developed encapsulation techniques allows accommodating of proteins, polypeptides, nucleic acids, anti-cancer drugs, etc; capsules can sustain release of encapsulated macromolecules and serve as a protective barrier; they can be triggered to release a payload by different stimuli, such as pH, ionic strength, redox potential, temperature and enzymes. Moreover, capsules can be remotely navigated by magnetic field and triggered to release content by infrared laser light, magnetic field and ultrasound treatment [1-5].
Capsules’ size is predetermined by the size of sacrificial template used for their formation. CaCO3 vateritemicroparticles are among those especially favorable for assembly of biodegradable capsules owing to mild conditions required to decompose CaCO3 [6]. The simplest common synthesis method is mixing of saturated salt solutions (CaCl2 and Na2CO3) allows particles with the size ranging from 5µm to 15µm [6]. In vivo and intracellular delivery applications require drug carriers small enough to penetrate the blood capillaries and somatic cells, and as so the size of CaCO3 has to be reduced. Here we reveal modified protocols for controlled synthesis of submicron spherical CaCO3.
In the blood stream of living organisms, capsules can be attacked by cells of the immune system causing life threatening thrombosis and blockage of blood vessels. Fabrication of capsules using donor blood serum protein in alternation with a small molecular weight compound would open up a possibility to minimize the immune response. This chapter is devoted to the fabrication and detailed characterization of capsules assembled of blood serum albumin and polyphenol.
References
[1] L.J. De Cock, S. De Koker, B.G. De Geest, J. Grooten, C. Vervaet, J.P. Remon, G.B. Sukhorukov, M.N. Antipina, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2010, 49, 6954–6973.
[2] M.N. Antipina, G.B. Sukhorukov, Adv. DrugDeliv. Rev., 2011, 63, 716–729.
[3] B.G. De Geest, R.E. Vandenbroucke, A.M. Guenther, G.B. Sukhorukov, W.E. Hennink, N.N. Sanders, J. Demeester, S.C. De Smedt, Adv. Mater., 2006, 18, 1005–1009
[4] M.V. Lomova, G.B. Sukhorukov, M.N. Antipina, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2010, 2, 3669–3676.
[5] Z. She, C.X. Wang, J. Li, G.B. Sukhorukov, M.N. Antipina, Biomacromolecules, 2012, 13, 2174−2180.
[6] G.B. Sukhorukov, D.V. Volodkin, A.M. Gunther et al, J. Mater. Chem.2004, 14, 2073–2081.