“…In general, biomolecules which do not interact ionically with the alginate are rapidly released (within a few hours), and the release profiles are often characterized by a more or less pronounced burst effect. To reduce the high protein diffusion, it has been proposed to coat the alginate beads, for example, with polycationic water-soluble polymers such as poly-L-lysine [2][3][4], chitosan [5][6][7], dextrin [8], aminopoly(oxyethylene) [9] or proteins [10,11]. Covalent modification of alginates by hydrophobic materials is an effective way for the increase of drug loading and the controlled release.…”