Capsules with external navigation and triggered release

- Triggers for opening polyelectrolyte capsules are identified.
- Characteristics of polyelectrolyte shells for controlled permeability are described.
- Capsule navigation system is shown.

Encapsulation is an important technology for pharmaceutical industry, food production, et cetera. Its current level of development requires capsule functionalization. One of the interesting ideas to provide new functionality to the microcapsule and nanocapsule is layer-by-layer deposition of functional species. This technique provides step-by-step adsorption of various species (polyelectrolytes, nanoparticles, proteins) when the layer growth is controlled by electrostatic, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic forces and forming multilayer shells with nanometer precision. This review article introduces recent achievements of layer-by-layer technique attaining external navigation ability and release properties the capsule shell.