The inherent room temperature mending and self-healing properties of saloplastic PAA/PAH CoPECs are studied. After ultracentrifugation of PAA/PAH polyelectrolyte complexes, tough, elastic materials are obtained that undergo self-healing facilitated by salt. At intermediate salt concentrations the CoPECs remain elastic enough to recover their original shape while the chains are mobile enough to repair the cut, thus leading to actual self-healing behavior.
Ultracentrifugated compact polyelectrolyte complexes (uCoPECs) represent a new class of materials that are obtained by ultracentrifugation of solutions of polyanion/polycation complexes in the presence of salt. In the present study, two polysaccharides, chitosan and alginate, were used to form such complexes, thus providing a solid material uniquely composed of polysaccharides. The conditions for obtaining the uCoPEC material were optimized: the optimal salt concentration and polysaccharide concentrations were assessed, and the ultracentrifugation speed proved to be a key parameter to obtain compact and homogeneous materials. The Young's modulus, E, of the material was of the order of 12 MPa, which is the highest E value measured for a uCoPEC. The material contained nanometer-sized crystals of chitosan as indicated by X-ray diffraction. Most strikingly, this material proves to be totally cell-and bacteria-resistant. Immunological tests show that this uCoPEC does not induce any proinflammatory response. This makes it a suitable candidate for the development of biocompatible and antifouling biomaterials composed only of polysaccharides.
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