Layer-by-layer assembly of two temperature-responsive homopolymers at neutral pH and the temperature-dependent solubility of the multilayer film.

We fabricated a layer-by-layer (LbL) film of temperature-responsive homopolymers at neutral pH and studied its temperature-dependent solubility. We first measured the cloud point of mixed solutions of temperature-responsive polymers. The significant decrease of cloud point suggested that the intermolecular interaction between two polymer chains of different kinds was stronger than that between two polymer chains of the same kind. Strong intermolecular interaction between two polymer chains of different kinds is a prerequisite for LbL assembly. On the basis of the decrease of cloud point of mixed solutions of temperature-responsive homopolymers, we selected poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) and poly(2-hydroxypropyl acrylate) (PHPA) for LbL assembly. LbL films of the two polymers were fabricated at neutral pH at a constant temperature. When the film was immersed in purified water at a temperature lower than the assembly temperature, it can be partially dissolved with a diffusion-limited dissolution process. The temperature-responsive solubility of the LbL film is closely connected to the phase behavior of mixed solutions of the two polymers. Additionally, as compared to multilayer films of neutral polymers and poly(carboxylic acid)s, the PVCL/PHPA multilayer film is relatively stable when it was immersed in buffer solutions near physiological pH at the assembly temperature. Such LbL films with temperature-responsive solubility might be used as a dissolvable film or a smart capsule.