Microencapsulation Technology and Applications

Microencapsulation technology allows a compound to be encapsulated inside a tiny sphere known as microsphere/microcapsule, having an average diameter as small as 1 mm to several hundred micro meters. Many different active materials like drugs, enzymes, vitamins, pesticides, flavours and catalysts have been successfully encapsulated inside microballoons or microcapsules made from a variety of polymeric and non polymeric materials including poly(ethylene glycol)s, poly(methacrylate)s, poly(styrene)s, cellulose, poly(lactide)s, poly(lactide-co-glycolide)s, gelatin and acacia, etc. These microcapsules release their contents at appropriate time by using different release mechanisms, depending on the end use of encapsulated products. This technology has been used in several fields including pharmaceutical, agriculture, food, printing, cosmetic, textile and defence. In defence sector this technology has introduced the concept of self-healing composites as well as chemical decontaminating fabrics. This review paper highlights the major reasons behind microencapsulation, important techniques of microencapsulation and application of microencapsulated products in different areas of science and technology.Defence Science Journal, 2009, 59(1), pp.82-95, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.59.1489