The importance of thermodynamics does not need to be emphasized. Indeed, elevated temperature processes govern not only industrial scale production, but also self-assembly, chemical reaction, interaction between molecules, etc. Not surprisingly, biological processes take typically place at defined temperature. Here, we look at possibilities to raise the localized temperature by a laser around noble metal nanoparticles incorporated into shells of layer-bylayer (LbL) polyelectrolyte microcapsules -freely suspended delivery vehicles in aqueous solution, developed in the Department of Interfaces, Max-Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces headed by Helmuth Möhwald. Understanding the mechanisms around localized temperature rise is essential, that is why we analyze thermodynamics at the nanoscale, the influence of incident intensity, nanoparticle size, their distribution and aggregation state. This leads us to scrutinize "global" (used for thermal encapsulation) versus "local" (used for release of encapsulated materials) temperature around nanoparticles. Similar analysis is extended to the lipid membrane system of vesicles and cells, on which nanoparticles are adsorbed. Insights are provided into the mechanisms of physico-chemical and biological effects, the nature of which has always been profoundly, interactively, and engagingly discussed in the Department. This analysis is combined with recent developments providing outlook and highlighting a broad range of emerging applications.A brief overview of polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules. Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) capsules were invented just over twenty years ago in the Department of Möhwald, where scientific problems and questions, as for example self-assembly at the nanoscale, 2 have been taken under the "curiosity lens". This approach has been rewarding both in understanding fundamental science 3, 4 and in developing numerous and important applications. The invention itself was an insightful way of transferring the layer-by-layer (LbL) 5 coatings produced by depositing alternatively charged polyelectrolyte polymers -from flat substrates to spherical particles. The semi-permeable nature of LbL coatings enables dissolution of the particles, denoted as templates, leaving the polymeric coating intact. An essential advantage of polyelectrolyte multilayer capsule is flexibility of their design and availability of various stimuli to control the interaction of polymers, encapsulation of molecules, release, mechanical properties. 6 At the beginning, right after the invention of PEM microcapsules, major efforts have been put to understand basic properties of the capsules. Such chemical stimuli as pH, ionic strength and physical stimuli such as temperature have been applied to control the