Nano-film coatings onto collagen hydrogels with desired drug release

Hydrogels have been mainly used for biomedical applications owing to their biocompatibility and high water content. However, they have serious limitations such as poor mechanical stability and fast release of the incorporated drug. To overcome these problems, we prepared collagen hydrogel (Col-H) with layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembled films (Col-H) to develop multifunctional hydrogel. We prepared LbL films using tannic acid and lignin for multi-functional properties. In addition, we incorporated doxorubicin as a model drug, which is widely used for cancer therapy. Furthermore, the prepared films exhibit antibacterial effect against gram-positive and negative bacteria and endure higher compression stress than bare Col-H.