In conclusion, drug release multilayers composed of double
light-responsive PnP templates and a-CD-RhB have been
prepared for the light controlled loading–unloading of small-
molecule drugs. Key to this novel type of drug carriers is that
electrostatic interactions and hydrogen-bonding interactions
between two optically active PnP templates have been utilized as
the main driving force of the assembly process, and chromo-
phores aggregation has stabilized multilayers to high pH environ-
ments. Results of this study provide some insights into the
importance of aggregation in controlling the structure of the
assemblies. Moreover, these polyelectrolyte multilayers are
capable of addressing the demand for small-molecule delivery
with highly controlled release kinetics, therefore the drug loading
amount and drug release rate are easy to control. We hope this
model system would be also valuable in the application of multi-
layers as functional surface coatings of implanted medical devices.
We thank Chinese Key Basic Research Program
(2010CB529906) and Young & Middle-aged Talent Project
of Hubei Provincial Department of education (Q20093401) for
funding.
Notes and references
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c
9848 Chem. Commun., 2012, 48, 9846–9848
This journal is The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012