Department of Chemical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
Biomacromolecules. 2010 Oct 11;11(10):2788-96. doi: 10.1021/bm100867h.
Self-assembled polyelectrolyte multilayers have gained tremendous popularity over the past decade and have been incorporated in diverse applications. However, the fabrication of detachable and free-standing polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) has proven to be difficult. We report the design of detachable, free-standing, and biocompatible PEMs comprised of hyaluronic acid (anionic PE) and chitosan (cationic PE). These PEMs can be detached from an underlying inert substrate without any postprocessing steps. Our approach enables the fabrication of detachable PEMs from a wide range of polyelectrolytes. Cross-linked PEMs exhibited greater than 95% weight retention when maintained in phosphate buffered saline at 37 °C over a seven day period. The PEM thickness was approximately 3 μm for dried films and increased 2-fold under hydration. A unique feature of the detachable, free-standing PEMs is their optical transparency in the 400-900 nm range under hydrated conditions. The Young's modulus of the cross-linked films ranged from 300-400 MPa, rendering these detachable free-standing multilayers ideal for biomaterial applications. BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts adhered on the PEMs and colonized the entire surface over a six day period. The cellular responses, as well as the physical properties, demonstrate that the detachable PEM films exhibit tremendous potential for applications in biomaterials and tissue engineering.
自组装聚电解质多层膜在过去十年中得到了极大的发展，并已应用于多种领域。然而，制备可拆卸和独立的聚电解质多层膜（PEMs）一直是一个难题。我们报告了一种由透明质酸（阴离子聚电解质）和壳聚糖（阳离子聚电解质）组成的可拆卸、独立和生物相容的 PEM 的设计。这些 PEM 可以从惰性基底上分离下来，无需进行任何后处理步骤。我们的方法能够从广泛的聚电解质中制备可拆卸的 PEM。交联的 PEM 在 37°C 的磷酸盐缓冲盐溶液中保持七天后，其重量保留率大于 95%。干燥膜的 PEM 厚度约为 3 μm，水合后增加了两倍。这种可拆卸、独立的 PEM 的一个独特特征是，在水合条件下，其在 400-900nm 范围内具有光学透明性。交联膜的杨氏模量范围为 300-400MPa，这使得这些可拆卸的独立多层膜非常适合生物材料应用。BALB/c 3T3 成纤维细胞在 PEM 上黏附，并在六天内覆盖整个表面。细胞反应以及物理性能表明，可拆卸的 PEM 薄膜在生物材料和组织工程应用方面具有巨大的潜力。
