Insulin release bio-platform from all nano-container assembled thin films

We introduce nano-container assembled multilayer structures for controlling the release of human insulin. Two block copolymer micelles (BCMs) were used as a nano-container for hydrogen bonding-based, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of thin films. BCMs were composed of either hairy (long corona region relative to the hydrophobic core part) or crew-cut (huge hydrophobic core chains, compared with the hydrophilic corona region) polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) and polystyrene-block-poly(acrylic acid) micelles. Human insulin-encapsulated BCM multilayer structures were deconstructed when rehydrated in model physiological conditions (37 °C, 5% CO ₂), phosphate buffer saline solutions (pH 7.4), and released BCMs as an insulin carrier, suggesting that the dissociation behavior of BCMs integrated into the LbL-assembled structures differs due to BCM combinations. These results indicate the preparing functional platforms for biomedical applications including the controlled release of insulin. MC3T3 cells were suggested for the cell viability and adhesion onto BCM multilayer thin films.