Multifunctional Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films:  Combining Mechanical Resistance, Biodegradability, and Bioactivity

Abstract

Cross-linked polyelectrolyte multilayer films (CL PEM) have an increased rigidity and are mechanically more resistant than native (e.g., uncrosslinked) films. However, they are still biodegradable, which make them interesting candidates for biomedical applications. In this study, CL PEM films have been explored for their multifunctional properties as (i) mechanically resistant, (ii) biodegradable, and (iii) bioactive films. Toward this end, we investigated drug loading into CL chitosan/hyaluronan (CHI/HA) and poly(L-lysine)/hyaluronan (PLL/HA) films by simple diffusion of the drugs. Sodium diclofenac and paclitaxel were chosen as model drugs and were successfully loaded into the films. The effect of varying the number of layers in the (CHI/HA) films as well as the cross-linker concentration on diclofenac loading were studied. Diclofenac was released from the film in about 10 h. Paclitaxel was also found to diffuse within CL films. Its activity was maintained after loading in the CL films, and cellular viability could be reduced by about 55% over 3 days. Such a simple approach may be applied to other types of cross-linked films and to other drugs. These results prove that it is possible to design multifunctional multilayer films that combine mechanical resistance, biodegradability, and bioactivity properties into a single PEM architecture.

Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Films of Controlled Stiffness Modulate Myoblast Cell Differentiation

“…The present findings highlight, in particular, the important role of the surface mechanical properties in cell/material interactions. As the polyelectrolyte multilayer films of controlled stiffness can also be loaded with bioactive molecules [54] and present the advantages of being non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable [55] , they could be further be employed as "multi-functional" films to investigate the respective roles of stiffness versus bioactivity and to control several key cellular processes. These PEM films could also find applications in the fields of regenerative medicine and muscle/cardiac tissue engineering, where controlling the cell/material interactions is crucial for guiding the cellular response.…”

Biodegradation-Resistant Multilayers Coated with Gold Nanoparticles. Toward a Tailor-made Artificial Extracellular Matrix

“…It is powerful technique for the fabrication of polymer-based multilayer films with dimensions from nano to micro, adjusted composition, and tunable cellular response. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] Control over cellular functions such as adhesion, differentiation, and proliferation, 12-15 along with reservoir properties for a variety of biomolecules such as proteins, growth factors, genes, and drugs 7, 16-20 makes these films an attractive platform for cell-based applications.Despite the evident biological potential to employ the multilayers to recapitulate ECM, 3 the options to tune multilayer biodegradability are mostly limited to multilayer chemical 13,[21][22] that can significantly change multilayer properties. There is also a lack in understanding the mechanism of biomolecule-multilayer interaction that obviously defines biomolecule presentation/release from multilayers to cells and, as a result, cellular response.…”

Polyelectrolyte Multilayers: Towards Single Cell Studies

“…Pharmaceuticals can be directly loaded by the post-loading approach (spontaneous diffusion into the preformed film) [38,55,56]. Alternatively, a casting deposition method has been used [57].…”

“…More details on a relation of physical-chemical properties of the LbL films to cellular response one can find in a comprehensive review [22]. To make them cell-adhesive the soft films have been either capped with stiffer multilayers [38] or cross-linked chemically [32,35,55]. Alternatively, film composition (e.g., polymer length) may be used to tune cell-film interaction [102].…”