Layer-by-Layer Assembly of Two Different Polymer Micelles with Polycation and Polyanion Coronas

Layer-by-layer (LBL) assembly of two different polymer micelles was realized through alternating deposition of micelles with a polyanion and a polycation corona without the use of molecularly dissolved polyelectrolytes. The two micelles used were formed by the diblock copolymers of quaternized poly(4-vinylpyridine)-b-poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PQ4VP-b-PtBA) and poly(acrylic acid)-b-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PAA-b-P4VP) at pH > 7. The simultaneous loading of two hydrophobic dyes (pyrene and Nile Red) in the multilayer films through their preencapsulation in the micelles was investigated. The results show that the two dyes were redistributed in the micelle core regions in the films during the LBL buildup process.