Polyelectrolyte complexes (PEC) are ionically bonded hydrogels. The resin is synthesized by coreacting linear, water-soluble ionic polymers of opposite electrical charge under carefully controlled conditions. The resulting material is insoluble in water, electrolytes, organic, or common solvents, but soluble in special ternary solvents. Optically clear membranes or shaped articles can be prepared by employing simple solvent casting and drying techniques upon resin dissolution. The equilibrium gel water content of typical, homogeneous complexes can be made to range from 30 to 90% by weight by changing the initial polyanion to polycation ratio. For almost any given charge ratio the water content can be varied from 30 to 90% by initial adjustment of the solvent composition. As the gel water content of a membrane is raised the dialytic, oxygen, and water transport increase. High water content membranes with and without glass reinforcement were shown to be extremely permeable materials. Because these hydrated complexes appeared to be chemically inert and could be tailored to be rich in either polyanion or polycation charged groups, their biocompatability was studied. Extraction, toxicity, tissue compatability, carcinogenicity, and blood contact studies on various polyelectrolyte complexes were carried out. 相似文献
The molecular structure of polystyrene sulphonate/CTAB stoichiometric complexes has been studied by small angle neutron scattering in solutions and in gels for atactic and isotactic isomers of the polystyrene moiety. It is found that tacticity has no influence on the molecular structure in solution but plays a role in the gel state. 相似文献
A simple method to obtain novel nanofibers composed of polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) has been proposed. It consists of the electrospinning of a mixed homogeneous solution of polyelectrolyte partners, and the formation of PEC during the electrospinning. This was achieved by careful choice of the composition of the spinning solutions. Chitosan was the polycationic partner, with either a weak polyacid [poly(acrylic acid), PAA] as a counterpart or a strong one [poly(2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid), PAMPS]. The fibrous mats were composed of nanofibers with mean diameters of ca. 100 nm. They retained their integrity over the pH range which is typical of the corresponding PEC.
Complexes of sodium poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (NaPSS) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) were formed on mixing equimolar solutions in high salt concentration. Under ultracentrifugal fields, the complex precipitates were transformed into compact polyelectrolyte complexes (CoPECs), which showed extensive porosity. The mechanical properties of CoPECS make them attractive for bioimplants and tissue engineering applications. Free NaPSS chains in the closed pores of CoPECs create excess osmotic pressure, which controls the pore size and contributes to the mechanical resistance of the material. The mechanical properties of CoPECs, modulated by the ionic strength of the doping medium, were studied by uniaxial tensile testing and the stress-strain data were fit to a three-element Maxwell model which revealed at least two regimes of stress relaxation. 相似文献
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are antibiotics with the potential to address antimicrobial resistance. However, their translation to the clinic is hampered by issues such as off-target toxicity and low stability in biological media. Stimuli-responsive delivery from polyelectrolyte complexes offers a simple avenue to address these limitations, wherein delivery is triggered by changes occurring during microbial infection. The review first provides an overview of pH-responsive delivery, which exploits the intrinsic pH-responsive nature of polyelectrolytes as a mechanism to deliver these antimicrobials. The examples included illustrate the challenges faced when developing these systems, in particular balancing antimicrobial efficacy and stability, and the potential of this approach to prepare switchable surfaces or nanoparticles for intracellular delivery. The review subsequently highlights the use of other stimuli associated with microbial infection, such as the expression of degrading enzymes or changes in temperature. Polyelectrolyte complexes with dual stimuli-response based on pH and temperature are also discussed. Finally, the review presents a summary and an outlook of the challenges and opportunities faced by this field. This review is expected to encourage researchers to develop stimuli-responsive polyelectrolyte complexes that increase the stability of AMPs while providing targeted delivery, and thereby facilitate the translation of these antimicrobials. 相似文献
Monte Carlo simulations are employed in order to analyze the structure of polyelectrolyte complexes consisting of two identical but oppositely charged macroions with varying chain stiffness. It is shown that two complex structures can arise depending on the stiffness of the constituent chains. Stiff chains are organized into a “ladder” structure in which chains are located parallel to each other and monomeric units are arranged into ionic pairs according to their position in the chain. Flexible chains form a globular “scrambled‐egg” structure with a disordered position of monomer units. The conformational transition between the two structures proceeds as a phase transition.
