Recent Developments in Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering Applications

Abstract

Surfaces with biological functionalities are of great interest for biomaterials, tissue engineering, and biophysics, and for controling biological processes. The layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly technology is a highly versatile methodology introduced 30 years ago, which consists in assembling complementary polyelectrolytes or biomolecules in a stepwise manner to form thin self‐assembled films. In view of its versatility, simplicity, compatibility with biological molecules, and adaptability to any kind of supporting material carrier, this technology has undergone major developments over the past decades. Specific applications have emerged in different biomedical fields owing to the possibility to load or immobilize biomolecules with preserved bioactivity, to use an extremely broad range of biomolecules and of supporting carriers, and to modify the film mechanical properties via crosslinking. In this review, we focus on the recent developments regarding LbL films formed as 2D or 3D objects for applications in drug delivery and tissue engineering. We highlight possible applications in the fields of vaccinology, 3D biomimetic tissue models, as well as bone and cardiovascular tissue engineering. In addition, we present the most recent technological developments in the field of films construction, such as high content liquid handling or machine learning, which are expected to open new perspectives in the future developments of LbL.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembly Strategies of Atomically Thin Two-Dimensional Nanomaterials: Principles, Methods, and Functional Applications

“…30 For other functional applications, LbL assembly can take full advantage of the photoelectric and magnetic properties of 2D materials, stacking and combining them to fabricate a variety of superlattice heterostructures, leading to new physical effects and properties that can be applied to construct novel functional devices. 31,32 Moreover, LbL-assembled laminated composites have been used in a wide range of applications such as drug delivery, 33 sensors, 34 and separation membranes. 35 In this review, we provide a comprehensive report on recent advances in LbL assembly principles, methods, and applications, focusing on the van der Waals assembly, the Langmuir− Blodgett assembly, the electrostatic assembly, and the hydrogen bonding assembly (Figure 1).…”

“…Based on these properties, LBL-assembled layered materials are widely used in energy storage applications such as lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, metal–air batteries, and supercapacitors . For other functional applications, LbL assembly can take full advantage of the photoelectric and magnetic properties of 2D materials, stacking and combining them to fabricate a variety of superlattice heterostructures, leading to new physical effects and properties that can be applied to construct novel functional devices. , Moreover, LbL-assembled laminated composites have been used in a wide range of applications such as drug delivery, sensors, and separation membranes …”

Bio-gel nanoarchitectonics in tissue engineering

“…Typical methodologies are the Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) method 36 and layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly. 37 These methods are rational methods for building functional structures from two to three dimensions, but they only synthesize structures at the thin-film level. They are not always suitable as methods for building macroscopic materials.…”