Polymer films of diblock copolymer micelles with upper critical solution temperature (UCST) response were synthesized and assembled via layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique. In one scenario, the temperature-responsive micellar cores were composed of a biodegradable polyaminoacid-based polymer block, i.e. polyureido(ornithine-co-lysine), while in another case the core was made of non-degradable poly(acrylamide-co-acrylonitrile) block. Hydrogen bonding between corona-forming polyvinylpyrrolidone block and tannic acid enabled robust assembly of both types of micelles within LbL films. The films exhibited large-amplitude, temperature-induced swelling transitions as temperature was cycled between values below and above micellar UCST. The micellar cores can serve as a reservoir for hosting a variety of small molecules, including antibacterial agents, creating the basis for the use of these assemblies for endowing biomedical implants and tissue engineering scaffolds with on-demand drug delivery capability.

Micellar temperature-responsive layer-by-layer assemblies

255th National Meeting (2018)

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