Thin films were prepared using layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition of Nafion (NAF) and polycations such as poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH), poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), and poly(diallydimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA). Insulin was then adsorbed on the NAF-polycation LbL films by immersion in an insulin solution. The NAF-polycation LbL films were characterized using a quartz crystal microbalance and an atomic force microscope. The release of insulin from the LbL films was characterized using UV-visible adsorption spectroscopy and fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The greatest amount of insulin was adsorbed on the NAF-PAH LbL film. The amount of insulin adsorbed on the (NAF/PAH)₅NAF LbL films by immersion in a 1 mg mL-1 insulin solution at pH 7.4 was 61.8 µg cm-2. The amount of insulin released from the LbL films was higher when immersed in insulin solutions at pH 2.0 and pH 9.0 than at pH 7.4. Therefore, NAF-polycations could be employed as insulin delivery LbL films under mild conditions and as an insulin release control system according to pH change.
Keywords: Nafion; controlled release; drug delivery; insulin; layer-by-layer film.