Lysozyme uptake into pharmaceutical grade fucoidan/chitosan polyelectrolyte multilayers under physiological...

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Surface Science

Background:

• Polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) are versatile materials with tunable properties.
• Fucoidan and chitosan are biocompatible polysaccharides with potential biomedical applications.
• Understanding PEMs' response to physiological conditions is crucial for their development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the behavior of fucoidan-chitosan PEMs in phosphate buffered saline (PBS).
• To determine the interaction of PEMs with enzymes like lysozyme and bovine serum albumin (BSA).
• To evaluate PEMs as potential drug delivery reservoirs.

Main Methods:

• Assembly of fucoidan-chitosan polyelectrolyte multilayers.
• Exposure to phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and enzyme solutions.
• Characterization using attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.
• Analysis of surface morphology and swelling using atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Main Results:

• PEMs exhibited swelling in PBS, with mass loss potentially occurring during swelling.
• The terminating layer of the PEM influenced the degree of swelling.
• Lysozyme adsorbed onto and permeated into the PEMs, causing some deswelling.
• Bovine serum albumin (BSA) did not penetrate the PEMs, suggesting size exclusion or charge repulsion.

Conclusions:

• Fucoidan-chitosan PEMs demonstrate responsive behavior to physiological solutions.
• PEMs show potential as reservoirs for specific biomolecules like lysozyme.
• The interaction with proteins is influenced by the protein's properties and the PEM's surface characteristics.