Polyelectrolyte Multilayers: An Overview on Fabrication, Properties, and Biomedical and Environmental Applications

Polyelectrolyte multilayers are versatile materials that are used in a large number of domains, including biomedical and environmental applications. The fabrication of polyelectrolyte multilayers using the layer-by-layer technique is one of the simplest methods to obtain composite functional materials. The properties of the final material can be easily tuned by changing the deposition conditions and the used building blocks. This review presents the main characteristics of polyelectrolyte multilayers, the fabrication methods currently used, and the factors influencing the layer-by-layer assembly of polyelectrolytes. The last section of this paper presents some of the most important applications of polyelectrolyte multilayers, with a special focus on biomedical and environmental applications.

Effect of metal ions on physical properties of multilayers from hyaluronan and chitosan and adhesion, growth and adipogenic differentiation of multipotent mouse fi-broblasts

Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) consisting of the polysaccharides hyaluronic acid (HA) as polyanion and chitosan (Chi) as polycation are prepared by the layer-by-layer technique (LbL). The [Chi/HA]5 multilayers are exposed to...

Cellular Internalization of Beta-Carotene Loaded Polyelectrolyte Multilayer Capsules by Raman Mapping

Raman mapping is becoming a very useful tool in investigating cells and cellular components, as well as bioactive molecules intracellularly. In this study, we have encapsulated beta-carotene using a layer-by-layer technique, as a way to enhance its stability and bioavailability. Further, we have used Raman mapping to characterize the as-obtained capsules and monitor their uptake by the human retinal epithelial D407 cells. We were able to successfully map the beta-carotene distribution inside the capsules, to localize the capsules intracellularly, and distinguish between capsules and other cellular components.