In vivo Cellular Uptake, Degradation, and Biocompatibility of Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules

Abstract

Polyelectrolyte microcapsules are made by layer‐by‐layer (LbL) coating of a sacrificial template, followed by decomposition of the template, to produce hollow microcapsules. In this paper, we report on the in vivo cellular uptake, degradation and biocompatibility of polyelectrolyte microcapsules produced from alternating dextran sulphate and poly‐L‐arginine layers on a template of calcium carbonate microparticles. We show that a moderate tissue reaction is observed after subcutaneous injection of polyelectrolyte microcapsules in mice. Within sixteen days after subcutaneous injection, most of the microcapsules are internalized by the cells and start to get degraded. The number of polyelectrolyte layers determines the stability of the microcapsules after cellular uptake.

Interaction, uptake, and processing of LbL-coated microcarriers by PMNs

“…Previously, intracellular degradation of different biocompatible polyelectrolyte multilayer materials could be shown after microcapsule application to 3T3 fibroblasts (20), dendritic cells and C57/BL6 mice (22), or macrophage-like U937 cells (19). Especially in (22), an enzymatic degradation of phagocytosed carriers could be observed in vivo, in contrast to extracellular capsules. This finding represents the basis for the drug release inside phagolysosomes.…”

“…Additional surface modification may further improve the properties of the carriers, for example enhancing their biocompatibility through functionalization with lipid layers (17) or improving their targeted uptake via antibody integration (18). In this context, cellular uptake and processing of the functionalized microcarriers are important issues of current research (19)(20)(21)(22).…”

Encapsulation and Surface Engineering of Pancreatic Islets: Advances and Challenges

“…Their cytotoxic effect though has been observed to be dependent on polycation concentration and exposure time (De Koker et al, 2007). The overall cytotoxicity of the polyelectrolytes originates from positive charge of polycations which can induce pore formation within the cell membrane causing its damage and, eventually, cell death (Bieber et al, 2002;Godbey et al, 1999).…”

Polymeric multilayer capsules delivering biotherapeutics

“…Importantly, the DS/pARG capsules retained their structural integrity before cellular uptake, but got rapidly degraded after internalization. [80] DS/pARG capsules were also explored as antigen delivery vehicles for pulmonary immunisation, [72] which recently has draw a lot of attention as it allows a noninvasive route of delivery and might harbour the benefit of inducing local mucosal immune responses in addition to systemic immunity. Pulmonary delivery of DS/pARG capsules induced a transient inflammatory response with recruitment of mainly monocytes and granulocytes.…”