Cover Picture: Encapsulation of Water‐Immiscible Solvents in Polyglutamate/ Polyelectrolyte Nanocontainers (Adv. Funct. Mater. 8/2007)

A novel approach for encapsulation of hydrophobic materials into hydrophilic multifunctional shells is based on combining ultrasonic techniques and layer‐by‐layer protocols. Polyglutamate/polyelectrolyte nanocontainers of 600 nm size loaded with hydrophobic tetraphenylporphin are fabricated in work reported by Dmitri Shchukin and co‐workers on p. 1273. The hydrophobic core of the nanocontainers can encapsulate a huge variety of water‐insoluble drugs and the outer hydrophilic polyelectrolyte shell has controlled permeability and multifunctionality. A novel approach for encapsulation of hydrophobic materials into a hydrophilic multifunctional shell is presented, based on combining an ultrasonic technique and a layer‐by‐layer protocol. Polyglutamate/polyethyleneimine (PEI)/polyacrylic acid (PAA) and polyglutamate/PEI/PAA/silver nanocontainers loaded with a hydrophobic dye, 5,10,15,20‐tetraphenylporphin, dissolved in toluene, are fabricated. Uniform, stable, and monodisperse polyglutamate/PEI/PAA nanocontainers of about 600 nm are obtained. The hydrophobic core of the nanocontainers might contain a huge variety of water‐insoluble drugs and the outer polyelectrolyte shell may provide controlled permeability and desired multifunctionality. Confocal fluorescence microscopy and scanning electron microscopy are employed for the characterization of the resulting nanocontainers. Using sodium dodecyl sulfate as surfactant, the amount of nanocontainers, their monodispersity, and stability can be increased dramatically.