Microencapsulation of Drugs (Drug Targeting and Delivery)

The first volume in a series aimed at undergraduates and graduates studying or researching drug delivery and targeting. The series covers delivery systems and their characterization "in vitro" and "in vivo", techniques such as microencapsulation, themes such as novel carrier systems, newer and potentially responsive or pulsatile systems, systems such as liposomes, penetration enhancers, delivery of enogenous hormones, lymphokines and cytokines, macromolecular absorption, vaccine design and delivery, and new materials for dosage form design and fabrication. Coverage includes oligonucleotide delivery and gene therapy in as far as these involve common problems in overcoming cellular barriers, selectivity and targeting as well as funtions in biological environments. This first volume in the series deals with the microencapsulation of drugs, and covers areas such as microcapsules with walls made of cross-linked starch derivatives, erythromycin release from HRB/PHV films, the effects of surfactants on the properties of microcapsules, and the interaction of peptide hormones with lipid membrane systems.