Self‐Rupturing and Hollow Microcapsules Prepared from Bio‐polyelectrolyte‐Coated Microgels

This paper reports on microcapsules obtained by layer‐by‐layer deposition of bio‐polyelectrolyte multilayers at the surface of biodegradable dextran microgels. The behavior of the layer‐by‐layer coating upon degradation of the microgel core strongly depends on the bio‐polyelectrolytes used. Two types of microcapsules, “self‐rupturing” microcapsules and “hollow” microcapsules, are presented. Self‐rupturing microcapsules are obtained when the swelling pressure of the degrading microgel core is strong enough to rupture the surrounding bio‐polyelectrolyte membrane. Self‐rupturing microcapsules could be of interest as a pulsed drug delivery system. Hollow microcapsules are obtained after applying multiple layers of bio‐polyelectrolyte that can withstand the swelling pressure of the degrading microgel core. Biomacromolecules (such as albumin and dextran) spontaneously accumulate in the hollow microcapsules prepared from dex‐HEMA microgels, which could be of interest for drug‐encapsulation purposes.