Addition of multivalent salts to water soluble polyelectrolytes, such as sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (NaCMC), induces conformational change to the polyelectrolyte structure, resulting in aggregation and precipitation, or gel formation, with increasing salt concentration. We have demonstrated that this transition can be exploited with NaCMC for encapsulation, specifically with microfluidic techniques. Whilst the phenomena has been previously reported, the complex effects of salt addition on polyelectrolyte conformation (charge screening, ion bridging and charge inversion) have not been fundamentally answered. We aim to address the equilibrium state of polyelectrolyte-salt mixtures, and mechanistic understanding of the conformational transition, to enable us to precisely design a (non-equilibrium) framework for directional solidification of these materials for encapsulation.