ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the preparation of porous polymeric materials or latex particles as carriers of a variety of functional cargoes. The overall functional efficiency of these cargoes can be enhanced with the presence of polymeric carriers, mainly because of improved recovery or controlled release behavior. Specifically, the immobilization of an enzyme or chemical catalyst on porous polymeric materials, as well as the incorporation of phase-transfer catalyst or herbicide with latex particles, is studied. In principle, the technology of encapsulation and controlled release using concentration emulsion-derived polymeric carriers can be expanded by using other interesting cargoes, such as therapeutic agents, to target other emerging applications.
