@article {19064,
	title = {Production of an elastin-based free-standing membrane using a simple multilayer assembly approach},
	journal = {Term Stem 2014},
	year = {2014},
	month = {2014-10-01 00:00:00},
	address = {Porto, Portugal},
	abstract = {<p>Polyelectrolyte multilayer (PEM) films have gained increasingly interest in the biomedical field, namely for biomolecules separation and drug delivery systems, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). Such structures are obtained through a layer-by-layer (LbL) approach, with alternately and consecutive deposition of the substrate on oppositely charged polyelectrolyte solutions. Besides LbL provides fine control over the film structure and a friendly and simple preparation, the robustness and effectiveness of the resulting membranes can be compromised by the impossibility of detaching it from the substrate. Free-standing membranes overcome this lack, without the need of any post-treatment. Literature already refers the production of easy-to handle chitosan/alginate free-standing membranes, and we intend to improve the range of applications of these films. So exploiting the PEM films ability to incorporate different types of biomolecules, we can increase the potential for engineering biologically inspired surfaces, directing cellular behavior and controlling the biochemical environment. Elastin is a case of an extracellular matrix (ECM) protein, important for the structural integrity and elasticity of elastic tissues, which due to their insolubility, has been synthetically engineered. Elastin-like recombinamers (ELRs) can incorporate different bioactive peptide moieties, which present different bioactivity properties according to the target.</p>},
	keywords = {Elastin-like polymers, Free-standing films, layer-by-layer},
	author = {Sousa, M. and Costa, R. R. and Rodr{\'\i}guez-Cabello, J. C. and Mano, J. F.}
}
