Temperature-responsive multilayer hydrogels provide a new platform for designing novel stimuli-sensitive coatings and microcontainers for controlled delivery. We present novel nanothin multilayer hydrogels of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam) (PVCL) with the reversible thermoresponsive behavior. The PVCL hydrogels were produced by selective cross-linking of PVCL in multilayers of PVCL-co-NH2 copolymers assembled with poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) via hydrogen bonding. Non-cross-linked two-component films did not exhibit any temperature responsive shrinkage due to the presence of PMAA. After crosslinking, the nanothin multilayer hydrogels exhibit distinctive and reversible thermoresponsive behavior. We demonstrated that capsules of cubical and spherical shapes with PVCL hydrogel walls could be fabricated as hollow hydrogel replicas of inorganic templates. The temperature-triggered capsule size changes were completely reversible. The cubical capsules retained their cubical shape when temperature was elevated from 25�C to 50�C exhibiting the size decrease. Our work opens new prospects for developing biocompatible and nanothin hydrogel-based coatings and containers for temperate-regulating drug delivery, cellular uptake, sensing, and transport behavior in microfluidic devices. 

Temperature-responsive multilayer hydrogels of poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)

247th National Meeting (2014)

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