LbL Nano-Assemblies: A Versatile Tool for Biomedical and Healthcare Applications

Abstract

Polyelectrolytes (PEs) have been the aim of many research studies over the past years. PE films are prepared by the simple and versatile layer-by-layer (LbL) approach using alternating assemblies of polymer pairs involving a polyanion and a polycation. The adsorption of the alternating PE multiple layers is driven by different forces (i.e., electrostatic interactions, H-bonding, charge transfer interactions, hydrophobic forces, etc.), which enable an accurate control over the physical properties of the film (i.e., thickness at the nanoscale and morphology). These PE nano-assemblies have a wide range of biomedical and healthcare applications, including drug delivery, protein delivery, tissue engineering, wound healing, and so forth. This review provides a concise overview of the most outstanding research on the design and fabrication of PE nanofilms. Their nanostructures, molecular interactions with biomolecules, and applications in the biomedical field are briefly discussed. Finally, the perspectives of further research directions in the development of LbL nano-assemblies for healthcare and medical applications are highlighted.

Magnetic Platelets as a Platform for Drug Delivery and Cell Trapping

“…For these purposes, drug carriers based on various nanomaterials are being actively developed and studied. They include nanoparticles [ 7 , 8 , 9 ], polymer micelles, liposomes, and polyelectrolyte microcapsules [ 10 , 11 ]. However, the body has an innate immune defense system, which quickly recognizes and destroys foreign objects passed into the organism.…”

Layer-by-Layer Materials for the Fabrication of Devices with Electrochemical Applications

“…This expands the range of materials that can be used as building blocks of LbL material beyond polyelectrolytes and bolaamphiphiles [7,10], allowing the fabrication of LbL materials with a broad range of molecules and colloidal nano-objects, irrespectively of their charge density. In fact, the LbL is not limited to the assembly of charge block, and the list of materials that can be assembled for building LbL materials includes, among other components, synthetic oppositely charged polyelectrolytes; synthetic neutral polymers; colloidal particles and nano-objects; biomolecules; dyes; viruses; and even, in some cases, molecular species [11]. On the other hand, the assembly process of LbL films, as well as their structures and properties, can be easily tuned by modifying different physico-chemical parameters of the layering solutions that modify the intricate balance of interactions between the assembly block (pH, ionic strength, temperature, polarity, concentration, building blocks charge density) or the type of substrate used as template of the assembly process [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Two-Dimensional and Three-Dimensional Ultrathin Multilayer Hydrogels through Layer-by-Layer Assembly

“…Studies on thin multilayer hydrogels are still in their early research stage despite many significant advances. These unique systems have been investigated from various perspectives, including chemical composition, growth mechanisms, and stimuli-triggered swelling/shrinkage. ,, Our group has contributed to this field with critical knowledge of stimuli-responsive multilayer hydrogels’ internal architectures and their solution behavior and developed nonspherical multilayer hydrogel colloids as capsules and hierarchically structured microparticles. In this Feature Article, we highlight our studies on the thin multilayer hydrogels that allowed for resolving the questions of internal layer uniformity and mixing, which are crucial issues in rational hydrogel design, and investigated structural and compositional changes upon the assembly of multilayer hydrogels and their response at the molecular level.…”