Biomedical applications of polyelectrolytes

Advances in polyelectrolyte multilayer nanofilms as tunable drug delivery systems

“…[25][26][27][28][29] In these studies, the macromolecular drug molecules served as both functional drugs and film components. As a coating component, interleukin-12 p70 (IL-12 p70; a key cytokine for cell-mediated immune response), together with a protein carrier (ie, bovine serum albumin), was recently incorporated in polypeptide multilayer nanofilms and it was found that its loading and release were tunable by controlling the number of film layers as well as IL-12 p70 concentration.…”

Investigation of citric acid–glycerol based pH-sensitive biopolymeric hydrogels for dye removal applications: A green approach

“…In recent years significant research has been focused on smart materials that are able to change their properties in response to external chemical and physical stimuli (Ichikawa, 2000). They are also named as "stimuli-responsive" hydrogels (Scranton and Klier, 1995). The acidic or basic pendant functional groups present on the polymer backbone viz., COOH, SO 3 H, OH, CONH 2 etc., responsible for volume or phase changes, such as in the pH, electric field, or ionic strength of the swelling agent, temperature.…”

Chitosan/alginate based multilayers to control drug release from ophthalmic lens

“…poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH) [17], which afford greater control of the properties of the LbL coatings. The use of LbL coatings to control drug release usually relies on specific interactions between the polyelectrolytes and the drugs loaded in the nanolayers which are weakened by structural changes of the coatings resulting from external stimuli, such as changes of pH, ionic strength, solvent, and applied external energy [18][19][20]. LbLs have also been used to build the shells of hollow capsules where solutes may be encapsulated and then released across the membrane in the presence of a concentration gradient [21,22].…”