Electrophoretic deposition of chiral polymers and composites

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the deposition of thin films of chiral polymers. EPD of poly-l-lysine (PLL) and poly-l-ornithine (PLO) films was performed for the first time on conductive substrates from aqueous and ethanol–water solutions. The deposition yield was monitored using a quartz crystal microbalance. The results demonstrated that the deposition yield can be varied by variation of the deposition time, voltage and polymer concentration in the solutions. It was shown that PLL and PLO provided stabilization and charging of hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles in suspensions. Composite PLL–HA and PLO–HA films of controlled thickness were prepared by EPD. Electron microscopy investigations showed that the thickness of the PLL, PLO and composite films was varied in the range of 0–3 μm. The polymer and composite films can be used for biomedical applications.

► Poly-l-lysine and poly-l-ornithine films were prepared by electrophoretic deposition.
► Composite films were obtained by codeposition of hydroxyapatite and chiral polymers.
► The method resulted in uniform films of controlled thickness and composition.
► The deposition mechanism has been developed.