Numerical method to characterise capsule membrane permeability for controlled drug delivery
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 14, 2025

Models and Methods to Evaluate Transport of Drug Delivery Systems Across Cellular Barriers
Published on: October 17, 2013
Clément Bielinski1, Badr Kaoui1
1Biomechanics and Bioengineering Laboratory, CNRS, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, Compiègne, France.
Abstract:
Design and characterisation of capsules is not an easy task owing to the multiple involved preparation factors and parameters. Here, a novel method to characterise capsule membrane permeability to solute molecules by an inverse approach is proposed. Transport of chemical species between the capsule core and the surrounding medium through the membrane is described by the Fick's second law with a position-dependent diffusion coefficient. Solutions are computed in spherical coordinates using a finite difference scheme developed for diffusion in multilayer configuration. They are validated using semi-analytical solutions and fully three-dimensional lattice Boltzmann simulations. As a proof of concept, the method is applied to experimental data available in the literature on the kinetics of glucose release and absorption to determine the membrane permeability of capsules. The proposed method is easy to use and determines correctly the permeability of capsule membranes for controlled drug release and absorption applications.
More Related Videos
10:07Preparation of Multifunctional Silk-Based Microcapsules Loaded with DNA Plasmids Encoding RNA Aptamers and Riboswitches
Published on: October 8, 2021
07:32Preparation and Characterization of Individual and Multi-drug Loaded Physically Entrapped Polymeric Micelles
Published on: August 28, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Methods for Studying Drug Absorption: In vitro
The diffusion cell method uses a two-compartment cell, including a donor compartment with the drug solution, which simulates the environment where the drug is applied, and a receptor compartment with a buffer solution, which simulates the environment...
Bioavailability Enhancement: Drug Permeability Enhancement
Drug Absorption Mechanism: Passive Membrane Transport
In Vitro Drug Dissolution: Compendial Testing Models II
Factors Influencing Drug Absorption: Drug Dissolution
Mechanisms of Drug Absorption: Paracellular, Transcellular, and Vesicular Transport
However, most drugs use the transcellular route, traversing directly through the cell membranes via two mechanisms: passive and active transport. Passive...