2 显微镜下的药物胶囊

共聚物又称为共聚体，是由两种或两种以上不同单体经聚合反应而得的聚合物。共聚物可用于制造药物胶囊，它负责装载药物微粒；聚合物不溶于酸性溶液，因此它们可用于制成药物涂层，从而避免人体吞服药物时药物在胃中溶化，或者通过缓慢消溶聚合物，逐渐释放药物效力，减少服药次数。

如图所示，图中橙色部分是药物胶囊中的内部微粒。这种胶囊是脱氢皮质醇药物，用于治疗肠炎。外部呈蓝色的颗粒是共聚物，负责装载这些药物微粒。图片是由安妮－卡瓦纳(Annie Cavanagh)提供的。

Copolymers can be used in microparticle or "particle-in-particle" drug delivery. Polymers that do not dissolve in acidic solutions can be used to coat a drug to prevent it being released in the stomach; or slowly dissolving polymers can slowly release a drug, reducing the number of times a day a person has to take medication.The inner particle, shown here in orange, is loaded with the drug prednisolone, used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. The outer particle, in blue, is the copolymer that encapsulates it.(Image: Annie Cavanagh) [NewScientist]