Mild encapsulation

The literature reports some of the properties that make the alginate so useful in so many areas, namely, mild encapsulation process, high gel porosity, suitability for diverse coatings applications. 

Several different hydrogels have heen investigated to determine the eflficacy of encapsulation therapy as treatment for multiple diseases in a variety of animal models. For instance, alginate-polylysine-alginate microcapsules have been employed to encapsulate islets and to reverse the effects of diabetes in rats and mice. The mild encapsulation procedure preserved the... 

It appears that none of these process techniques is dominant, at least with the lactide/glycolide materials. Researchers have considerable choices available in regard to fabrication of microspheres from these polymers. The most commonly used procedures employ relatively mild conditions of pH and temperature and are usually quite compatible with the bioactive agents to be entrapped, including proteins and other macromolecules. Only in the case of live virus and living cell encapsulation have serious deactivation problems been encountered and those problems were due to solvents used in the process. 

Kirby, C. J., and Gregoriadis, G. (1984). A simple procedure for preparing liposomes capable of high encapsulation efficiency under mild conditions, in Liposome Technology, Vol. 1 (G. Gregoriadis, ed.), CRC Press, Boca Raton, pp. 19-27. 

In addition, iron(II) complexes of tetraaza macrocyclic ligands 17-20 were encapsulated within the nanopores of zeolite-Y and were used as catalysts for the oxidation of styrene with molecular oxygen under mild conditions (Scheme 9) [57]. 

Similarly to the above-mentioned entrapment of proteins by biomimetic routes, the sol-gel procedure is a useful method for the encapsulation of enzymes and other biological material due to the mild conditions required for the preparation of the silica networks [54,55]. The confinement of the enzyme in the pores of the silica matrix preserves its catalytic activity, since it prevents irreversible structural deformations in the biomolecule. The silica matrix may exert a protective effect against enzyme denaturation even under harsh conditions, as recently reported by Frenkel-Mullerad and Avnir [56] for physically trapped phosphatase enzymes within silica matrices (Figure 1.3). A wide number of organoalkoxy- and alkoxy-silanes have been employed for this purpose, as extensively reviewed by Gill and Ballesteros [57], and the resulting materials have been applied in the construction of optical and electrochemical biosensor devices. Optimization of the sol-gel process is required to prevent denaturation of encapsulated enzymes. Alcohol released during the... 

In order to overcome some limitations of the adsorption process due to surface accessibility or diffusional hindering, immobilization of enzymes by direct in situ encapsulation has been investigated. When inorganic supports can be prepared in mild conditions compatible with the enzyme stability, then such processes allow... 

Leadbeater NE, Pillsbury SJ, Shanahan E, Williams VA (2005) An assessment of the technique of simultaneous cooling in conjunction with microwave heating for organic synthesis. Tetrahedron 61 3565-3585 Lee CKY, Holmes AB, Ley SV, McConvey IF, Al-Duri B, Leeke GA, Santos RCD, Seville JPK (2005) Efficient batch and continuous flow Suzuki crosscoupling reactions under mild conditions, catalysed by polyurea-encapsulated palladium (II) acetate and tetra-n-butylammonium salts. J Chem Soc Chem Commun 2175-2177... 

A. Singh and B. D. Chandler, Mild thermolysis conditions for the activation of dendrimer encapsulated R nanoparticles, Langmuir, 21, 10776-10782 (2005). 

Although ciclosporin and tacrolimus applied systemically improve psoriatic lesions, they are clearly less active when applied topically. Therefore, liposomal preparations have been developed. Indeed, ciclosporin penetrates deeper strata of rodent and human cadaver skin more efficiently when incorporated into liposomes [51], Moreover, tacrolimus concentrations in murine skin have increased ninefold, and skin graft survival prolonged, if the drug is liposome encapsulated [52]. This indicates that topical psoriasis therapy with tacrolimus may become possible. At present, topical tacrolimus is confined to the less recalcitrant forms of mild eczema. 

In the case of rhodium, however, it was demonstrated early that in the synthesis of [Rh6C(CO)l5]2 the encapsulated carbon atom originated as chloroform, which had reacted with the rhodium carbonyl anion [Rh7(CO)l6]3- (59). In the cobalt analog, [Co6C(CO)l5]2-, the carbon atom is derived indirectly from carbon tetrachloride [via Co3(CO)9CCl] (60) Both these syntheses are performed under mild conditions, and there are apparently no examples of carbidocarbonyl clusters of cobalt or rhodium prepared directly from the metal carbonyls under pyrolysis conditions. 

The dialysis method is well suited for the encapsulation of lipophilic drugs. The liposomes prepared by this method are usually homogeneous in size with good reproducibility, and the encapsulation condition is mild compared with other methods. The drawbacks include (i) low entrapment efLciency for hydrophilic molecules, (ii) the complete removal of residual detergent is impossible, (iii) the procedure is lengthy, and (iv) scale-up is difLcult. 

The sol-gel procedure enables encapsulation of enzymes in optically transparent, porous silicate matrices, under mild room-temperature conditions. The small pores prevent microbial degradation and, due to the biomolecule size, they will not diffuse out of the polymer network. The physical encapsulation avoids self-aggregation effects as well as protein unfolding and denaturalization. At the same time, the catalytic activity is maintained as the enzymes are able to react with small substrates that can transfer across or within the support, assuring continuous transformations [75]. 

The enzyme, normally in solution, is added and after aging either a thin film or a gel can be formed with the encapsulated molecules. Depending upon the acid used, the solution pH and other conditions, gelation can take from 1 min up to several days. The sol-gel matrix shows many advantages (i) the ability to entrap a large amount of enzyme, (ii) retention of the enzymatic activity due to the sufficiently mild conditions of the sol-gel process,... 

---