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Updated: Jan 25, 2026

Assembly and Characterization of Polyelectrolyte Complex Micelles
Published on: March 2, 2020
Polyelectrolyte Complexes of Natural Polymers and Their Biomedical Applications
Masayuki Ishihara1, Satoko Kishimoto2, Shingo Nakamura3
1Division of Biomedical Engineering Research Institute, National Defense Medical College, Saitama 359-8513, Japan. ishihara@ndmc.ac.jp.
Abstract:
Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs), composed of natural and biodegradable polymers, (such as positively charged chitosan or protamine and negatively charged glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)) have attracted attention as hydrogels, films, hydrocolloids, and nano-/micro-particles (N/MPs) for biomedical applications. This is due to their biocompatibility and biological activities. These PECs have been used as drug and cell delivery carriers, hemostats, wound dressings, tissue adhesives, and scaffolds for tissue engineering. In addition to their comprehensive review, this review describes our original studies and provides an overview of the characteristics of chitosan-based hydrogel, including photo-cross-linkable chitosan hydrogel and hydrocolloidal PECs, as well as molecular-weight heparin (LH)/positively charged protamine (P) N/MPs. These are generated by electrostatic interactions between negatively charged LH and positively charged P together with their potential biomedical applications.
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