Polymeric multilayer films comprising deconstructible hydrogen-bonded stacks confined between electrostatically assembled layers

Abstract

Deconstructible polymeric films have potential applications in the areas of drug delivery, patterning, and membrane science. Here, we report on the preparation of heterogeneous multilayer films comprising alternate stacks of hydrogen-bonded (poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and poly(acrylic acid, sodium salt) (PAA)) and electrostatically formed (poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH)) layers via the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique. We demonstrate that these polymeric films are highly pH sensitive toward deconstruction, with the onset of film deconstruction occurring at about pH 7.4. The pH-induced film deconstruction characteristics (total film los..