Chapter 10: Smart Microcapsule Membranes for Controlled Release

The design, fabrication and controlled release properties of environmental stimuli-responsive microcapsule membranes are introduced here. These smart microcapsule membranes can modulate their permeability, mass transport, targeting/sensing, or surface features responding to diverse environmental stimuli, such as temperature, pH, magnetic field, specific molecules/ions and so on. Especially for drug delivery systems, the smart microcapsules can load a variety of drugs or chemicals and release them at a suitable time and rate, and in a desired place where ambient conditions such as pH or temperature differ from those in other places. Two types of controlled release modes are presented here, i.e., controllable burst release and controllable on–off release.