Biopolymeric colloidal carriers for encapsulation or controlled release applications.

Biopolymers represent an interesting alternative to synthetic polymers in order to be used as structured carriers for controlled release and encapsulation applications. In particular, the ability of these carriers to entrap both hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs may be very promising for many applications. In addition, the absence of chemical compounds and organic solvents used to produce biopolymeric matrices could be very interesting for some industrial applications. Simple or complex coacervation methods involving proteins or protein and polysaccharide mixtures were used to create new matrices dedicated to controlled release applications. Controlled release experiments with model compounds were conducted in order to evaluate the performance of such matrices. An alternative and promising research field deals with particles obtained from hydrogel systems. Totally transparent solid matrices resulting from the dehydration of new protein gels were formed and swelling capacities of these matrices were studied.