Polymer Nanocapsules

Dear Colleagues,

Nanoencapsulation technologies have attracted considerable research interest over the last few years to develop advanced materials for a wide range of applications, such as: medicine, pharmaceutical, imaging technology, catalysis and agriculture. Polymeric nanocapsules have a size range from 10 nm to 1000 nm. They consist of a liquid/solid core in which the active material is placed into a cavity, which is surrounded by a distinctive natural or synthetic polymeric membrane. By a proper design of the polymeric shell, release can be tuned and controlled by different external stimuli such as light, pH, temperature, etc. As nanostructures possess greater capability to take on an extensive range of applications with extremely high and efficient reproducibility, encapsulating in the nanoscale exhibits several advantages over macro- and microencapsulation. For instance, anti-cancer drug containing nanocapsules, when administered intravenously, specifically reach the target and release the encapsulated drug. Though nanoencapsulation technologies open huge possibilities for polymeric materials application, however there are still many aspects to be developed in the field, which offer new challenges and breakthrough opportunities. Thus, this Special Issue aims to provide the readers with a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of recent developments and innovative application in this field.

In this Special Issue both original papers and reviews of experimental and theoretical studies are welcome, according to the following research areas:

• Novel protocols for nanoencapsulation technology;
• Development of new polymers for nanoshell design;
• Structure–property relationships in polymer nanocapsules and nanoparticles;
• Applications of polymeric nanocapsules and nanoparticles;
• Modelling investigations on polymeric nanosystems;
• Drawbacks and possible solutions of encapsulation at a nano-level;
• Future perspectives for polymer nanoscience and technology.

Prof. Marta Giamberini
Dr. Bartosz Tylkowski
Guest Editors

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