encapsulare

Encapsulare is a verb meaning to enclose something within a capsule or protective shell, or to surround it with a capsule. The term derives from the Latin capsula, meaning a small box, with the suffix -are forming the verb in Romance languages such as Italian and Romanian. In these languages, encapsulare is used primarily in technical contexts to refer to encapsulation processes in biology, chemistry, and computing.

In biology and medicine, encapsulation describes the formation or placement of a capsule around a material. Examples include the bacterial capsule, an extracellular layer that can influence virulence and immune evasion; and therapeutic encapsulation, where drugs, enzymes, or cells are enclosed in polymer shells to protect them, control release, or enable implantation, as in microencapsulation and cell encapsulation using alginate beads.

In pharmacology and materials science, encapsulation methods such as microencapsulation, coacervation, spray-drying, and interfacial polymerization are used to protect active ingredients, mask odors or tastes, or enable controlled release. Encapsulation is also used in agrochemicals for targeted delivery and in food technology to improve stability and mouthfeel.

In computing, encapsulation refers to an object-oriented programming principle by which data and the methods operating on that data are bundled together, and access to internal state is restricted to defined interfaces; this form of encapsulation is a design principle rather than a physical enclosure.

Related concepts include capsule (biology), microencapsulation, and containment strategies in pharmacology and IT design.