BIOENCAPSULATION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY

Bioencapsulation was first reported about 30 years ago (Chang 1964). T his includes bioencapsulation of cells, enzymes, drugs, magnetic mater ials, isotopes, absorbents, hemoglobin and other materials (1-5) (Fig. 1). In the last 10 years, explosive interests in biotechnology has le d to increasing research on bioencapsulation by many groups. Rapid pro gress is therefore being made around the world on the use of bioencaps ulation in biotechnology (6-8). Studies by other groups are described in details in this symposium volume. This paper is therefore mainly a discussion of some of our own studies on bioencapsulation in biotechno logy.