Progress on multi-compartment polymeric capsules

Abstract

Recently, the construction of multi-compartment polymeric capsules has received considerable attention; for the development of next generation hollow structure carriers, multi-compartmentalization is a key requirement. In this review we give a brief overview with regard to the different preparation methods of multi-compartment polymeric capsules including self-assembly, surface-initiated polymerization, layer-by-layer assembly, emulsion-based methods, in addition to self-assembly approaches using dendrimers or hyperbranched polymers as construction units. Finally, a short summary on potential biological applications is given.