We report on the characterisation of pH-responsive polyelectrolyte microcapsules based on the measurement of their electrical impedance. A microfabricated impedance spectrometer was used to measure the properties of individual capsules. We show the ability of the system to discriminate between different capsule compositions and detect changes in size and dielectric properties of pH responsive m...

Glucose-responsive systems that can change their volumes or other properties in response to glucose concentration, show great potential as drug delivery carriers for controlled release of insulin for diabetes therapy or targeted delivery of anticancer drugs for cancer treatment. In this study, we report on a novel type of monodisperse phenylboronic acid (PBA)-based microcapsules for glucose-res...

Consistent liver metastases in animal models is generally observed only with certain cancer cell lines. With the aim of improving on existing animal models of liver metastases, we hypothesized that cancer cells encased in 300 Mm microcapsules, mimicking micrometastatic foci, might be effective seeds of liver metastases. A total of 3,000 microcapsules, containing 700 to 1,500 viable cells/capsul...

PURPOSE Radiation-sensitive microcapsules composed of alginate and hyaluronic acid are being developed. We report the development of improved microcapsules that were prepared using calcium- and yttrium-induced polymerization. We previously reported on the combined antitumor effect of carboplatin-containing microcapsules and radiotherapy. METHODS AND MATERIALS We mixed a 0.1% (wt/vol) solution...

This study attempted to use collagen-Matrigel as extracellular matrix (ECM) to supply cells with three-dimensional (3D) culture condition and employ alginate-poly-l-lysine-alginate (APA) microcapsules to control the formation of alveolus-like structure in vitro. We tested mice foetal pulmonary cells (FPCs) by immunohistochemistry after 2D culture. The alveolus-like structure was reconstructed b...

Glipizide is an effective antidiabetic agent, however, it suffers from relatively short biological half-life. To solve this encumbrance, it is a prospective candidate for fabricating glipizide extended release microcapsules. Microencapsulation of glipizde with a coat of alginate alone or in combination with chitosan or carbomer 934P was prepared employing ionotropic gelation process. The prepar...

BACKGROUND AND THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of polyelectrolytes (PEs) has received a great attention in the area of drug delivery due to its simplicity and versatility. This research was aimed to develop multilayered microcapsules through LbL deposition of chitosan (CHI) and sodium alginate (NaALG) and utilize them as vehicle for controlled delivery of isoniazid (INH...

Using computational modeling, we design colonies of biomimetic microcapsules that exploit chemical mechanisms to communicate and alter their local environment. As a result, these synthetic objects can self-organize into various autonomously moving structures and exhibit ant-like tracking behavior. In the simulations, signaling microcapsules release agonist particles, whereas target microcapsule...

Quercetin (1) is an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant flavonoid. However, the oral administration of 1 did not lead to beneficial effects in experimental animal colitis models, which involve cytokines and oxidative stress. A possible explanation is that the absorption profile of 1 prevents its activity. Therefore, it was reasoned that the controlled release of 1 would improve its therapeutic ef...

Linseed oil which has various biomedical applications was encapsulated by chitosan (Chi)-based microcapsules in the development of a suitable carrier. Oil droplets formed in oil-in-water emulsion using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as emulsifier was stabilized by Chi, and microcapsules with multilayers were formed by alternate additions of SDS and Chi solutions in an emulsion through electrostat...