We report an approach to the design of degradable polyelectrolyte-based films for the controlled release of siRNA from surfaces. Our approach is based on stepwise, layer-by-layer assembly of multilayered polyelectrolyte films (or "polyelectrolyte multilayers", PEMs) using siRNA and a hydrolytically degradable poly(β-amino ester) (polymer 1). Fabrication of films using siRNA sequences for green ...

Successful layer-by-layer (LbL) growth of short chain (∼30 repeat units per chain) poly(sodium styrene sulfonate) (PSS)-poly(diallyl dimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) multilayers is presented for the first time and compared with the growth of equivalent long chain polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs). A detailed study performed by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) is carried...

This chapter deals with charged polymers (polyelectrolytes) in solution and at surfaces. The behavior of polyelectrolytes is markedly different from that of neutral polymers. In bulk solutions, i.e. disregarding the surface effect, there are two unique features to charged polymers: first, due to the presence of long-ranged electrostatic repulsion between charged monomers, the polymer conformati...

We report a layer-by-layer approach to the fabrication of thin polymer-based multilayers that release DNA rapidly in physiologically relevant environments. This approach exploits the properties of a weak anionic polyelectrolyte [poly(acrylic acid); PAA] to disrupt ionic interactions and promote disassembly in coatings that otherwise erode slowly. We investigated this approach using multilayers ...

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) multilayers with functional polyelectrolyte nanospacing layers are presented. Taking advantage of the facile method of layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly, individual chemically exfoliated MoS2 layers are not only effectively isolated from interlayer coupling but also doped by functional polymeric layers. It is clearly demonstrated that MoS2 nanosheets separated by polymer...

The formation of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) for the first time, two decades ago, demonstrating the assembly on charged substrates in a very simple and efficient way, has proven to be a reliable method to obtain structures tunable at the nanometer scale. Much effort has been put into the assembly of these structures for their use in biological applications. A number of these efforts have...

The inevitable contact of substrates with water during the traditional practice of layer-by-layer assembly (LBL) creates problems for multiple potential applications of LBL films in electronics. To resolve this issue, we demonstrate here the possibility of a LBL process using ionic liquids (ILs), which potentially eliminates corrosion and hydration processes related to aqueous media and opens a...