Microencapsulation Methods for Delivery of Protein Drugs

Recent advances in recombinant DNA technology have resulted in development of many new protein drugs. Due to the unique properties of protein druges, they have to be delivered by parenteral injection Although delivery of protein drugs by other routes, such as pulmonary and nasal routes, has shown some promises, to date most protein drugs are administered by par-enteral routs. For long-term delivery of protein drugs by parenteral administration, they have been formulated into biodegradable microspheres. A number of microencapsulation methods have been developed, and the currently used microencapsulation methods are reviewed here, The microen-capsulation methods have been divided based on the method used. They are: solvent evapora-tion/extraction; phase separation (coacervation);spray drying; ionotropic gelation/polyelectrolyte complexation; interfacial polyumerization and supercritical fluid precipitation. Each method is de-scribed fro its applications, advantages, and limitations.