LbL coated microcapsules for delivering lipid-based drugs

Nowadays, more than 40% of new pharmacologically active compounds exhibit poor water solubility, which requires the development of the new methods for their administration and delivery. One of the most promising approaches for the development of such delivery systems is the use of layer-by-layer assembly technology for encapsulation of the lipid-based drugs. This technique permits the step-wise adsorption of various components as the layer growth is governed by their electrostatic attraction and allows the formation of multilayer shells with nanometer-scale precision. The proposed review surveys the application of layer-by-layer assembly for emulsions, nanoparticles, and capsule-based delivery systems for lipid-based drugs. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.