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To overcome the fast or burst release of hydrophilic drugs from hydrophilic alginate-based carriers, hydrophobic molecule (vinyl acetate, VAc) was grafted on alginate (Alg), which was further used to prepare drug carriers. Amphiphilic Alg-g-PVAc hydrogel beads were firstly prepared by emulsification/internal gelation technique for the loading of bovine serum albumin (BSA). Then, chitosan was coated on the surface of beads to form novel amphiphilic Alg-g-PVAc/chitosan (Alg-g-PVAc/CS) microcapsules. The BSA-loading amphiphilic Alg-g-PVAc/chitosan (Alg-g-PVAc/CS) microcapsules display similar morphology and size to the hydrophilic alginate/chitosan (AC) microcapsules. However, the drug loading and loading efficiency of BSA in Alg-g-PVAc/CS microcapsules are higher, and the release rate of BSA from Alg-g-PVAc/CS microcapsules is slower. The results demonstrate that the introduction of hydrophobic PVAc on alginate can effectively help retard the release of BSA, and the higher degree of substitution is, the slower the release rate is. In addition, the complex membrane can also be adjusted to delay the release of BSA. As a whole, amphiphilic sodium alginate-vinyl acetate/CS microparticles could be developed for macromolecular drug delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immobilization biocatalysis is a potential technology to improve the activity and stability of biocatalysts in nonaqueous systems for efficient industrial production. Alginate-chitosan (AC) microcapsules were prepared as immobilization carriers by emulsification-internal gelation and complexation reaction, and their contribution on facilitating the growth and metabolism of yeast cells were testified successfully in culture medium-solvent biphasic systems. The cell growth in AC microcapsules is superior to that in alginate beads, and the cells in both immobilization carriers maintain much higher activity than free cells, which demonstrates AC microcapsules can confer yeast cells the ability to resist the adverse effect of solvent. Moreover, the performance of AC microcapsules in biphasic systems could be improved by adjusting the formation of outer polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) membrane to promote the cell growth and metabolic ability under the balance of resisting solvent toxicity and permitting substrate diffusion. Therefore, these findings are quite valuable for applying AC microcapsules as novel immobilization carriers to realize the biotransformation of value-added products in aqueous-solvent biphasic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microencapsulation supplies cells with a three-dimensional microenvironment enhancing the metabolic activity, cell density and recombinant protein expression in a stirred tank bioreactor which is used widely to culture mammalian cells in many biochemical processes. In this paper, we address the growth and Desmodus rotundus salivary plasminogen activator (DSPA) production of recombinant CHO (rCHO) in a stirred tank bioreactor. Cells were cultured using two different methods-in an unmicroencapsulated versus microencapsulated culture-and compared differences between them in terms of cell reproduction and DSPA protein productivity. Compared to the unmicroencapsulated rCHO, microencapsulated cells got higher cell density and prolonged the plateau phase. Microencapsulated rCHO promoted DSPA production, with a maximum rate that was 4.8 times higher than in unmicroencapsulated cells, and the accumulated production of DSPA was 3.3 higher than in unmicroencapsulated cells. Negative relationship was found between specific growth rate and DSPA production capacity of unit cells. These findings will facilitate the methods for higher DSPA production in stirred tank bioreactors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]