Multilayer capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes: a review on the preparation, functionalization and applications in drug delivery

• Varsha Sharma and
• Anandhakumar Sundaramurthy

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2020, 11, 508–532, doi:10.3762/bjnano.11.41

• , theranostics and gene therapy. The most essential attributes of a drug delivery system are considered to be multi-functionality and stimuli responsiveness against a range of external and internal stimuli. Apart from the highly explored strong polyelectrolytes, weak polyelectrolytes offer great versatility with

• a highly controllable architecture, unique stimuli responsiveness and easy tuning of the properties for intracellular delivery of cargo. This review describes the progress in the preparation, functionalization and applications of capsules made of weak polyelectrolytes or their combination with

• potential applications. Keywords: drug delivery; functionalization; multilayer capsules; synthesis; weak polyelectrolytes; Review Introduction In the last few decades, micrometer and nanometer-sized capsules made of polyelectrolytes (PEs) have been the subject of intensive research because of their

pH-mediated control over the mesostructure of ordered mesoporous materials templated by polyion complex micelles

• Emilie Molina,
• Mélody Mathonnat,
• Jason Richard,
• Patrick Lacroix-Desmazes,
• Martin In,
• Philippe Dieudonné,
• Thomas Cacciaguerra,
• Corine Gérardin and
• Nathalie Marcotte

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 144–156, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.14

• mesoporous materials whose synthesis is directed by polyion complex micelles. This is due to the variation of three essential properties as a function of pH: the extent of the electrostatic bonding between the weak polyelectrolytes, the extent of the hydrogen bond interaction between silanol and PEO ether

pH-Triggered release from surface-modified poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) nanoparticles

• Manuel Häuser,
• Klaus Langer and
• Monika Schönhoff

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2015, 6, 2504–2512, doi:10.3762/bjnano.6.260

• charged substrates. The most common and therefore best investigated multilayer build-up involves two oppositely charged polyelectrolytes. Weak polyelectrolytes, such as polyacrylic acid (PAA), with a pH-dependent charge density can be used to add pH-tunable properties to the nanoparticle surface to which

• , leading to well fitted desorption isotherms. Furthermore, desorption data obtained after omitting the previous adsorption of a terminating PAA layer clearly show a partial desorption of PDADMAC during assembly of the terminating PAA layer, emphasising the pH-sensitivity of PEM consisting of weak

• polyelectrolytes, such as PAA. The obtained data not only reveal important information about pH-tunability, but also about the absolute stability of polyelectrolyte multilayers and will therefore facilitate future development of applications in the field of pH-sensitive nanostructure assembly. Experimental

Macromolecular shape and interactions in layer-by-layer assemblies within cylindrical nanopores

• Thomas D. Lazzara,
• K. H. Aaron Lau,
• Wolfgang Knoll,
• Andreas Janshoff and
• Claudia Steinem

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2012, 3, 475–484, doi:10.3762/bjnano.3.54

• fabricated from weak polyelectrolytes will have a greater tendency to swell in response to ionic strength conditions, pH and solvent quality. When deposited within cylindrical nanopores, these films may exhibit a behavior intermediate between the proteins and the linear-PEs used. These differences must be