A significant amount of academic and industrial research efforts are devoted to the encapsulation of active substances within micro-or nanocarriers. The ultimate goal of core-shell systems is the protection of the encapsulated substance from the environment, and its controlled and targeted release. This can be accomplished by employing "stimuli-responsive" materials as constituents of the capsule shell. Among a wide range of factors that induce the release of the core material, we focus herein on the light stimulus. In polymers, this feature can be achieved introducing a photo-sensitive segment, whose activation leads to either rupture or modification of the diffusive properties of the capsule shell, allowing the delivery of the encapsulated material. Micro-and nano-encapsulation techniques are constantly spreading towards wider application fields, and many different active molecules have been encapsulated, such as additives for food-packaging, pesticides, dyes, pharmaceutics, fragrances and flavors or cosmetics. Herein, a review on the latest and most challenging polymer-based micro-and nano-sized hollow carriers exhibiting a light-responsive release behavior is presented. A special focus is put on systems activated by wavelengths less harmful for living organisms (mainly in the ultraviolet, visible and infrared range), as well as on different preparation techniques, namely liposomes, self-assembly, layer-by-layer, and interfacial polymerization.
Phytocompounds have been used in medicine for decades owing to their potential in anti-inflammatory applications. However, major difficulties in achieving sustained delivery of phyto-based drugs are related to their low solubility and cell penetration, and high instability. To overcome these disadvantages, nanosized delivery technologies are currently in use for sustained and enhanced delivery of phyto-derived bioactive compounds in the pharmaceutical sector. This review focuses on the recent advances in nanocarrier-mediated drug delivery of bioactive molecules of plant origin in the field of anti-inflammatory research. In particular, special attention is paid to the relationship between structure and properties of the nanocarrier and phytodrug release behavior.
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