Polymer Capsules for Plaque‐Targeted In Vivo Delivery

Polymer capsules are currently being developed for biomedical applications ranging from sensing and confined bio-reactions to drug delivery. [1] These applications require polymer capsules to be loaded with functional cargo, such as liposomes, nanoparticles, enzymes, or therapeutics, and targeted to the specific site of action, such as plaques, tumors, or organs. [2] The functional cargo is required to be preferentially retained in the capsules either by using cargo-impermeable capsules, or by conjugating the cargo to the polymer shell. [3] Conjugation offers some advantages, such as chemical control over the linking moieties, which can be pH, redox or enzyme responsive, while cargo-impermeable capsules offer advantages such as high drug loading and responsiveness based on the polymer shell properties, for example enzymatic degradation, and pH-or salt-induced swelling. [4] Besides the retention of functional cargo, polymer capsules for biomedical application also require stealth and targeting