Remote control over guidance and release properties of composite polyelectrolyte based capsules

Polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules represent a unique tool to fabricate micron- and submicron-sized delivery systems with the properties of external guidance by means of remote physical influence. Embedding of nanoparticles into polyelectrolyte multilayer constructs opens up the opportunities to navigate the capsules with magnetic field and in-situ trigger the release of encapsulated material in response to the physical stimuli, such as light and ultrasound. So far, optically- and magnetically-induced addressing of the polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules internalized by the living cells in-vitro has been demonstrated. In this review, we discuss the state of the art, future perspectives and anticipated obstacles of in-vivo and in-vitro applications of the polyelectrolyte capsules performing remotely controlled release delivery of bioactives. Crown Copyright (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.