The development of rapid and versatile coating strategies for interface and particle engineering is of immense scientific interest. Recently, we reported the rapid formation of thin films comprised of metal–phenolic networks (MPNs) on various substrates by simply mixing natural polyphenols and metal ions. This coating technique is substrate independent (covering organic, inorganic and biological substrates) and has been used for the assembly of capsules by coating particles and then removing the coated templates. It will be shown that a range of polyphenols and a library of metal ions are suitable in forming MPNs for film and capsule engineering. The MPN films and capsules are stable at physiological pH but degrade at acidic pH, making them of interest for intracellular release of therapeutics. By altering the metal ions, different functions can be incorporated in the MPN materials, ranging from fluorescence to MRI and catalytic capabilities. Furthermore, synthetic polymer-phenol conjugates have been used as building materials for control over the biofouling properties of the MPN materials. The ease and scalability of the assembly process, combined with pH responsiveness, negligible cytotoxicity and tunable properties, provides a new avenue for functional interface engineering, and makes these MPNs potential candidates for biomedical and environmental applications.

Engineering interfaces and particles through the assembly of metal–phenolic networks

251st National Meeting (2016)

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