Publication Date

2016

Journal or Book Title

WIREs Nanomedicine and Nanobiotechnology

Abstract

There has been increasing interest in complex coacervates for deriving and trans- porting biomaterials. Complex coacervates are a dense, polyelectrolyte-rich liq- uid that results from the electrostatic complexation of oppositely charged macroions. Coacervates have long been used as a strategy for encapsulation, par- ticularly in food and personal care products. More recent efforts have focused on the utility of this class of materials for the encapsulation of small molecules, pro- teins, RNA, DNA, and other biomaterials for applications ranging from sensing to biomedicine. Furthermore, coacervate-related materials have found utility in other areas of biomedicine, including cartilage mimics, tissue culture scaffolds, and adhesives for wet, biological environments. Here, we discuss the self- assembly of complex coacervate-based materials, current challenges in the intel- ligent design of these materials, and their utility applications in the broad field of biomedicine.

Comments

Blocher, W. C. and Perry, S. L. (2016), Complex coacervate-based materials for biomedicine. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol. doi:10.1002/wnan.1442

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1002/wnan.1442

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