Self-assembled Chitosan Research Articles

Self-assembling chitosan based injectable and expandable sponge with antimicrobial property for hemostasis and wound healing

Chitosan and chitosan derivative are widely used in hemostasis, antibiosis and wound repair for its good biocompatibility and unique effect. However, the preparation of chitosan based hemostatic materials or wound dressings generally involves chemical crosslinking agent introduction, acid residue or complicated preparation process, which limits its clinical application. In this study, an injectable and expandable chitosan sponge was constructed by chitosan (CS) and quaternized chitosan (QCS) self-assembly without acid retention and chemical crosslinker introduction. In the neutral condition, the hydrogen bond of CS molecules can act as the driving force to form cross-linking network, and the QCS was introduced to regulate the hydrogen bond of CS to avoid the excessive aggregation. The porous QCS/CS sponge was obtained by freeze-drying of the self-assembly QCS/CS hydrogel. The sponge exhibited high expansibility, injectability and water/blood triggered shape memory property. Due to the introduction of QCS, the sponge showed good antibacterial properties, which can protect the wound from bacterial invasion. The convenient and green preparation method of injectable and expandable QCS/CS sponge is a potential method for the treatment of hemostasis and wound healing.

Reversibly photochromic wood constructed by electric field-assisted self-assembled chitosan and tungsten trioxide coatings

ABSTRACT The photochromic properties are highly desirable for advanced wood applications, but they have not been extensively studied. To incorporate photochromic capabilities into wood materials, composite coatings were developed on the wood surface using an electric field-assisted layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly technique. The composite coatings consist of cationic chitosan and anionic tungsten trioxide (WO3) nanoparticles. By applying a direct current voltage during the deposition process, a well-organized distribution of WO3 nanoparticles was achieved, resulting in a uniform coverage of the wood substrate. This assembly process facilitated the creation of structured photochromic coatings with minimal nanoparticle fillers, a straightforward and rapid procedure, and potential for large-scale production. Lab colorimetric results demonstrated that the wooden substrate changed color from its natural state to blue when exposed to UV light. UV-vis spectroscopy further confirmed the efficient absorption of WO3 and photochromic properties of the modified wood.

On chip synthesis of a pH sensitive gefitinib anticancer drug nanocarrier based on chitosan/alginate natural polymers

In this research, using a microfluidic chip, a nanocarrier for the anticancer drug gefitinib was synthesized. Chitosan and alginate natural polymers were utilized for the synthesis of the nanocarrier. The synthesis of the nanocarrier comprises the interaction of secondary amine functional groups of gefitinib molecules with carboxylate functional groups of alginate polymer to form the primary nucleus followed by the formation of the nanocarrier through the self-assembly of chitosan and alginate polymers on a fabricated microfluidic chip. The chip was fabricated by laser engraving poly(methyl methacrylate) polymer sheets. The nanocarrier was characterized by FT-IR, DLS, SEM, and TEM techniques. The synthesized nanocarrier had a size distribution of 5.30 ± 2.60 nm and the encapsulation efficiency percent was 68.4% in the optimum conditions. The loading efficiency was calculated as 50.2 mg g−1 of nanocarrier. Drug release studies showed that the nanocarrier is sensitive to pH and releases more gefitinib in acidic environments. Cytotoxicity of the synthesized nanocarrier was studied on the A549 non-small cell lung cancer, and the MTT test showed that the synthesized nanocarrier has a lower IC50 value than the free drug. Also, the cytotoxicity studies showed that the materials used for the synthesis of nanocarrier do not show significant cytotoxicity. Compared to the previously reported method, the developed microfluidic-assisted method showed advantages such as a faster synthesis procedure and comparable encapsulation efficiency and loading capacity.

Facile synthesis of heteroatom-doped hierarchical porous carbon with small mesopores for high-performance supercapacitors

Structural optimization and doping engineering contribute to the promotion of insufficient specific capacitance and energy density for carbon-based supercapacitors. In this manuscript, heteroatom-doped hierarchical porous carbon with small mesopores (2–4 nm) is developed via a simple synthesis by carbonization and activation of an iron nitrate-induced self-assembled chitosan and sodium lignosulfonate composite aerogel. Chitosan and sodium lignosulfonate are utilized as carbon and heteroatom sources, while iron nitrate acts as the template and graphitization catalyst. With alkali activation, a heteroatom-doped hierarchical porous carbon with a high specific surface area, large proportion of small mesopores and well degree of graphitization was obtained, which is less reported in other articles. The optimal sample demonstrates a high specific capacitance (330 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1), superior rate performance (270 F g−1 at 20 A g−1) and favorable cycling stability (95 % retention after 30,000 cycles). The corresponding symmetric supercapacitors are utilized in three different electrolytes and exhibit the maximum energy density of 40.76 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 450 W kg−1, as well as excellent rate performance and cycling stability. This study highlights the importance of small mesopores for the performance of carbon-based supercapacitors.

Hollow carbon spheres derived from self-assembled chitosan/poly(γ-glutamic acid) nanoparticles for oil-in-water emulsion separation

With the rapid science and technology advancement, the oil-water separation in oily wastewater has become an urgent problem, especially the emulsified oil-water mixtures. Hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) have tremendous potential in separating oil-water emulsions due to their rich porous channels and high surface-to-volume ratio. In this work, as-prepared chitosan/poly(γ-glutamic acid) nanoparticles crosslinked by Ni2+ (Ni2+/CS/γ-PGA NPs) were used as carbon precursor to fabricate HCSs. This strategy separated the formation process of the biomolecular microspheres and the carbonization process. Especially, the Ni2+/CS/γ-PGA NPs were fabricated from the self-assembly of chitosan and γ-PGA in aqueous solution and the crosslinking of Ni2+ via the electrostatic interactions, facilitating the formation of biomolecular microspheres and making the usable of biomolecule-based carbon precursors diversity. After lyophilization, Ni2+/CS/γ-PGA NPs powder was obtained, which was then carbonized in a tube furnace under N2 atmosphere. During the carbonization process, the nickel species aggregated together to form the core of nickel@carbon nanoparticles, and carbon formed the shell. At last, nickel nanoparticles were removed from the carbon framework by hydrochloric acid, obtaining HCSs with super-hydrophobicity and lipophilicity. The as-prepared HCSs exhibited excellent separation performance in oil-in-water emulsions.

On the Fractionation and Physicochemical Characterisation of Self-Assembled Chitosan-DNA Polyelectrolyte Complexes.

Chitosan is extensively studied as a carrier for gene delivery and is an attractive non-viral gene vector owing to its polycationic, biodegradable, and biocompatible nature. Thus, it is essential to understand the chemistry of self-assembled chitosan-DNA complexation and their structural and functional properties, enabling the formation of an effective non-viral gene delivery system. In this study, two parent chitosans (samples NAS-032 and NAS-075; Mw range ~118-164 kDa) and their depolymerised derivatives (deploy nas-032 and deploy nas-075; Mw range 6-14 kDa) with degrees of acetylation 43.4 and 4.7%, respectively, were used to form polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) with DNA at varying [-NH3+]/[-PO4-] (N/P) molar charge ratios. We investigated the formation of the PECs using ζ-potential, asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation (AF4) coupled with multiangle light scattering (MALS), refractive index (RI), ultraviolet (UV) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) detectors, and TEM imaging. PEC formation was confirmed by ζ-potential measurements that shifted from negative to positive values at N/P ratio ~2. The radius of gyration (Rg) was determined for the eluting fractions by AF4-MALS-RI-UV, while the corresponding hydrodynamic radius (Rh), by the DLS data. We studied the influence of different cross-flow rates on AF4 elution patterns for PECs obtained at N/P ratios 5, 10, and 20. The determined rho shape factor (ρ = Rg/Rh) values for the various PECs corresponded with a sphere morphology (ρ ~0.77-0.85), which was consistent with TEM images. The results of this study represent a further step towards the characterisation of chitosan-DNA PECs by the use of multi-detection AF4 as an important tool to fractionate and infer aspects of their morphology.

High internal phase emulsions stabilized by pea protein isolate modified by ultrasound and pH-shifting: Effect of chitosan self-assembled particles

This study unveils an effective and simple approach to formulate solid-sate high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) with strong viscoelasticity and high stability, using modified pea protein isolate (MPPI) as emulsifier and self-assembled chitosan (CS) particles as cofactor to stabilize the system. The results demonstrated that native pea protein isolate (PPI) has poor emulsification, whereas PPI modified by ultrasound and pH-shifting can successfully stabilize HIPEs. Incorporation of CS particles further increases the viscoelasticity and self-supporting properties of HIPEs. Micromorphological and microrheological analyses indicated that CS particles could enhance the interfacial adsorption of proteins and fill in the interdroplet network structure. Decreased droplet size, improved interfacial film strength, and improved viscoelasticity endow HIPEs with better properties, such as higher self-supporting capacity, improved plasticity, and superior stability, which are regulated by the CS particle level. These improvements provide the opportunity for HIPEs as 3D printing inks to print high-resolution, self-supporting products. In addition, the constructed HIPEs showed better tolerance to various processing environments such as centrifugation, storage, and heating and, remain stable at 0–400 mM NaCl and pH settings of 6.5–7.5. These findings promote the constructed HIPEs as potential solid fat substitutes for meat products.

Self-Assembled Lecithin-Chitosan Nanoparticles Improved Rotigotine Nose-to-Brain Delivery and Brain Targeting Efficiency

Rotigotine (RTG) is a non-ergoline dopamine agonist and an approved drug for treating Parkinson's disease. However, its clinical use is limited due to various problems, viz. poor oral bioavailability (<1%), low aqueous solubility, and extensive first-pass metabolism. In this study, rotigotine-loaded lecithin-chitosan nanoparticles (RTG-LCNP) were formulated to enhance its nose-to-brain delivery. RTG-LCNP was prepared by self-assembly of chitosan and lecithin due to ionic interactions. The optimized RTG-LCNP had an average diameter of 108 nm with 14.43 ± 2.77% drug loading. RTG-LCNP exhibited spherical morphology and good storage stability. Intranasal RTG-LCNP improved the brain availability of RTG by 7.86 fold with a 3.84-fold increase in the peak brain drug concentration (Cmax(brain)) compared to intranasal drug suspensions. Further, the intranasal RTG-LCNP significantly reduced the peak plasma drug concentration (Cmax(plasma)) compared to intranasal RTG suspensions. The direct drug transport percentage (DTP (%)) of optimized RTG-LCNP was found to be 97.3%, which shows effective direct nose-to-brain drug uptake and good targeting efficiency. In conclusion, RTG-LCNP enhanced drug brain availability, showing the potential for clinical application.

Water-in-water emulsions stabilized by self-assembled chitosan colloidal particles

Dextran (Dex) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-based aqueous emulsions were stabilized using the self-assembled chitosan colloidal particles (CS CPs). Besides, the effects of pH, CS CPs concentration, polymer concentration, volume ratio of PEG solution to Dex solution, temperature, homogenizing speed and homogenizing time on the property of the W/W emulsions were investigated, respectively. In order to enhance the stability of the PEG-Dex emulsion, sodium tripolyphosphate was used to cross-link the CS CPs at the interface of emulsion droplets, which resulted in the stability duration for >1 year. Finally, the CS CPs were used as a support to immobilize urease and bovine serum albumin and a stabilizer to prepare W/W emulsion, which were then adopted as a catalysis system and as a spinning solution to fabricate drug-loaded nanofiber. This strategy potentially provides a new opportunity to encapsulate the active molecules at the water-water interface, and enrich the types of usable active molecules in the encapsulation in the W/W emulsions.

Twisted fiber SPR sensor for copper ion detection

A novel fiber surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor for the detection of copper ions was reported in this paper. The twisted region was fabricated on the single-mode fiber by using the fiber hot melt torsion technology, and the light transmitted in the core was coupled to the cladding. The cladding was coated with nano gold film, and the cladding mode totally reflected at the interface between the cladding and the gold film, which excited the SPR effect. After optimizing the fabrication parameters of the twisted region, the twisted fiber with a pitch of 123 µm was selected to construct the SPR sensor probe, and its refractive index sensitivity is 2689.06 nm/RIU. Furthermore, the self-assembled chitosan / polyacrylic acid film was immobilized on the surface of the sensor layer by layer, and the concentration of copper ion was detected. The test results indicate that with the increase of Cu2+ concentration from 15.7 nM to 1.57 mM, the SPR resonance valley moves towards the long wavelength direction, the detection sensitivity is 3.46 nm/lgC, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 10.10 nM. The proposed fiber SPR sensor is simple to manufacture, which provides a new idea for heavy metal ion detection by fiber sensor.

Phytic acid-induced self-assembled chitosan gel-derived N, P–co-doped porous carbon for high-performance CO2 capture and supercapacitor

Heteroatom-doped porous carbon materials (HPCMs) have attracted great attention due to their excellent physical and chemical properties and the enhanced performance of multiple heteroatom co-doping. Herein, N, P-co-doped porous carbon materials (NPPCs) are developed via a novel synthesis of the phytic acid-induced self-assembled chitosan aerogel followed by pyrolysis and activation. Phytic acid serves as a P source, acid regulator and structure-directing agent for improved activation efficiency to create more pores. A little of NaNO 3 is used both as a template and activator simultaneously. The porosity and N content of such NPPCs are controlled by rationally tuning the pyrolysis temperature and the mount of NaNO 3 . The NPPC-0.75-600 delivers a good CO 2 adsorption capability of 3.02 and 5.31 mmol g −1 at 100 and 500 kPa, respectively, and has an excellent stability with almost no adsorption capacity decay even after successive 20 cycles. For supercapacitors (SCs), the NPPC-0.75-700 also displays a high capacitance of 231.2 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and an outstanding stability at circa 96.7% initial capacity after 10000 cycles. These results highlight the great potential of such NPPCs in CO 2 capture and SCs, and the novel synthetical route offers new insights for the readily scalable production of HPCMs. • Phytic acid induced chitosan gel and served as a P source and activation agent. • N,P-co-doped porous carbon delivered a CO 2 capture ability of 5.31 mmol g −1 at 298 K. • N,P-co-doped porous carbon exhibited specific capacitance at 231.2 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 . • CO 2 capture and supercapacitor performances were substantially improved by P doping.

Self-assembled chitosan derived microparticles inhibit tumor angiogenesis and induce apoptosis in Ehrlich-ascites-tumor bearing mice

Self-assembled microparticles from chitosan (SAMC) was prepared by depolymerization induced by potassium persulfate. Particle size distribution data showed averaged around 5 μm size and SEM indicated the sequential formation of “RBC” shaped particles. Soluble SAMC consists of ‘deacetylated’ residues as revealed by 13C NMR. SAMC showed antitumor efficacy in human breast cancer cell lines through mitigation in cell proliferation, colony formation and cell migration. Anti-tumor and anti-angiogenic properties of SAMC was found in vivo Ehrlich ascites tumor (EAT) bearing mice model resulting in tumor growth inhibition (EAT control, 17.4 ml; SAMC treated, 6.8 ml) and improved survival potency (15 days). Moreover, the decrease in ascites VEGF secretion (EAT control, 1354 ng; SAMC treated, 351 ng) accompanied with reduction in neovessel formation. Apoptosis induction by SAMC was confirmed by DNA fragmentation, caspase activities and fluorescence staining methods respectively. SAMC may be a safe candidate for anti-tumor dietary supplement production in food industry.

Self-assembled chitosan polymer intercalating peptide functionalized gold nanoparticles as nanoprobe for efficient imaging of urokinase plasminogen activator receptor in cancer diagnostics

Targeting cell surface receptors for specific drug delivery in cancer has garnered lot of attention. Urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), a surface biomarker, is overexpressed on many tumours including breast, colorectal, prostate, and ovarian cancers. Binding of growth factor domain (GFD) of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) with uPAR lead to its close conformation, and allow somatomedin B domain (SMB) of vitronectin binding by allosteric modulation. In-silico docking of uPAR with GFD and SMB peptides was performed to identify potential binding affinity. Herein, we report fluorescently labeled peptide functionalized AuNPs with a mixed self-assembled monolayer of intercalating chitosan polymer for efficient targeting and imaging of uPAR-positive cells. The biophysical characterization of nanoconjugates and uPAR-specific targeting was assessed by FACS, cell adhesion, and fluorescence imaging. AuNPs/chitosan/GFD+SMB peptides showed higher uptake as compared to AuNPs/chitosan/GFD, and AuNPs/chitosan/SMB that can be utilized as a tool for molecular targeting and imaging in metastasis.

Curcumin-laden dual-targeting fucoidan/chitosan nanocarriers for inhibiting brain inflammation via intranasal delivery

Curcumin can reduce the production of brain inflammatory mediators and symptoms of brain diseases. However, a large amount of free curcumin needs to be administered to achieve an effective level in the brain because of its poor water-solubility. Fucoidan and chitosan were reported to respectively target P-selectin and acidic microenvironment expressed by pathologically inflammatory cells/tissues. Herein, the self-assembly of chitosan and fucoidan which could encapsulate curcumin was developed to form the multi-stimuli-responsive nanocarriers, and their pathological pH- and P-selectin-responsive aspects were characterized. Through intranasal delivery to the brain, these curcumin-containing chitosan/fucoidan nanocarriers with dual pH-/P-selectin-targeting properties to the brain lesions improved drug delivery, distribution, and accumulation in the inflammatory brain lesions as evidenced by an augmented inhibitory effect against brain inflammation. This promising multifunctional nanocarrier with a novel drug-delivery route should allow potential clinical biomedical uses by neurosurgeon in the future.

Self-assembled chitosan nanoparticles for intranasal delivery of recombinant protein interleukin-17 receptor C (IL-17RC): preparation and evaluation in asthma mice

ABSTRACT Asthma is mentioned as a chronic airway inflammatory disease, whose pathogenesis is complicated. The promotion of inflammation in asthma by IL-17A and IL-17F has been confirmed. In addition to covalent homodimers, both cytokines are also able to form heterodimers, further inducing downstream pathways via binding to the IL-17RA and IL-17RC receptor complex. In recent years, IL-17RA and its signal transduction pathway have been extensively researched. IL-17RC, however, remains relatively unexplored. In the present study, we self-assembled chitosan (CS) nanoparticles for intranasal delivery of recombinant protein IL-17RC (rIL-17RC) and preliminarily investigated its effect on a murine model of allergic asthma induced by ovalbumin (OVA). rIL-17RC was produced by the prokaryotic expression system and encapsulated into the CS nanoparticles via ionic cross-linking technique. The results showed that CS-RC nanoparticles via intranasal intervention significantly caused inhibition of mucus secretion and airway inflammatory cell infiltration, and reduced IL-4, IL-17, IL-17F levels in BALF. Hence, delivering receptor proteins such as IL-17RC, through CS nanoparticles as a carrier, could be an attractive therapeutic intervention for asthma.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of self-assembled chitosan nanoparticles selectively overcoming hepatocellular carcinoma via asialoglycoprotein receptor

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Nowadays, liver-targeting drug delivery system has been proven as a promising strategy for overcoming HCC. Asialoglycoprotein receptor (ASGPR) is an ideal receptor for liver targeting, which is mainly expressed on hepatocytes. In this study, we developed several novel liver-targeting chitosan nanoparticles to selectively overcome HCC via ASGPR. Chitosan nanoparticles (Gly-CS-VE, Gal-Gly-CS-VE, Gly-CS-DCA, and Gal-Gly-CS-DCA) were prepared by grafting hydrophilic group (glycidol, Gly), hydrophobic group (deoxycholic acid, DCA or vitamin E succinate, VE), and ASGPR recognizing group (galactose, Gal). Subsequently, their characterizations were measured by 1H NMR, FT-IR, TEM, and DLS. Doxorubicin (DOX) was loaded in nanoparticles and released out in a pH-dependent manner. Most importantly, the galactosylated Gal-Gly-CS-VE and Gal-Gly-CS-DCA nanoparticles exhibited significantly stronger in vitro cell internalization, cytotoxicity, anti-migration capabilities and in vivo anticancer efficacies than the corresponding Gly-CS-VE and Gly-CS-DCA nanoparticles, as well as free DOX. Finally, the four chitosan nanoparticles exhibited good biocompatibility without causing any obvious histological damage to the major organs. Overall, the galactosylated chitosan nanoparticles were proven to be promising pharmaceutical formulations for selectively overcoming HCC, with great potential for clinical applications.

Facile preparation of self-assembled chitosan-based composite hydrogels with enhanced adsorption performances

With the rapid development of industry, water pollution is an urgent problem to be solved. Hydrogels have attracted more and more attention in wastewater treatment due to their large specific surface area and unique structure. In this work, new self-assembled chitosan (CS)/two-dimensional material composite hydrogels were successfully prepared by adding graphene oxide (GO), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and layered double hydrotalcites (LDH) to CS hydrogel with glutaraldehyde as a cross-linking agent. The structure and morphology of the obtained composite hydrogels were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET). In addition, Rhodamine B (RhB) and methylene blue (MB) were used as typical dyes to evaluate the dye adsorption capacity of composite hydrogels. The obtained CS-CNT and CS-GO composite hydrogels exhibited enhanced adsorption performance compared to CS hydrogel, and the prepared hydrogels have better adsorption capacity for MB dye. Present work provided new clue for the preparation of self-assembled composite hydrogel materials and their applications in wastewater treatment.

Self-assembly of chitosan and cellulose chains into a 3D porous polysaccharide alloy films: Co-dissolving, structure and biological properties

Blending of plant-based cellulose and marine-derived chitosan in micro-level has potential to make fascinating materials. However, this task is frequently hindered by the poor solubility of the polysaccharides. Here, using a green alkali/urea solvent media together with a well-designed dissolving strategy, original cellulose pulp and chitosan power were dispersed into a homogeneous solution. Driven by the intermolecular hydrogen-bond interaction, cellulose and chitosan chains were facially self-assembled into a unique 3D alloy structure. Owing to the rich interface interactions, the tensile strength and breaking elongation of the alloy film increased by 69% and 260%, respectively, when compared to a pure chitosan film. Besides, the 3D alloy films with a pore diameter of 920–1435 nm exhibited an extremely high cell viability which was higher than 95%. Additionally, accelerated wound healing rate of 95.6% reached in the presence of the alloy film after two weeks using a full-thickness wound in a rat model.

Chlorin e6 decorated doxorubicin encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles for photo-controlled cancer drug delivery

In the study we have reported the physico-chemical, photophysical and morphological properties of chlorin e6 (Ce6) decorated doxorubicin (DOX) encapsulated chitosan (CS)-tripolyphosphate (TPP) nanoparticles which prepared by ionotropic gelation method. The Ce6 physically loaded onto the nanoparticles by self-assembly of CS with TPP-DOX under aqueous conditions. The results from DLS studies highlights the prepared nanoparticles that possess the size in the range of 80–120 nm. with negatively charged of −6 mV. The SEM and AFM images showed 80–120 nm size while the average size of the Ce6 decorated nanoparticles was found to be around 100–130 nm. The absorption spectra of Ce6 decorated nanoparticles are similar when compared to free Ce6 which suggest there is no change in the Ce6 chromophore upon decoration. This nanoparticle showed high photostability and singlet oxygen generation (SOG). The Ce6 decorated and DOX encapsulated nanoparticles sizes and charges are in the range of 90–130 nm and −30 mV respectively. The nanoparticles showed high encapsulation efficiency towards DOX as well as pH controlled release. This has significant anti-proliferative activity against MCF-7 breast cancer cells after irradiation at near infra-red (NIR) ranges were evaluated. This could have potential applications in photo-controlled smart DOX delivery system for cancer treatment.

Layer-by-layer self-assembled chitosan/PAA nanofiltration membranes

Abstract Polyelectrolyte composite nanofiltration membranes were prepared using layer-by-layer self-assembly of chitosan and poly(acrylic acid) on a microporous polyethersulfone substrate. Membranes with a layer-by-layer structure were formed by sequential depositions of cationic chitosan and anionic poly(acrylic acid) alternately. The impacts of parameters involved in the membrane preparation process on the separation performance of the resulting membrane were investigated. The membranes showed good separation performance with an over 90% rejections to sulfate salts (i.e., MgSO4 and Na2SO4) and nearly 60% rejections to chloride salts (i.e., MgCl2 and NaCl). In spite of commonly observed trade-off relationship between salt rejection and water permeability, the membrane fabrication conditions can be tailored to enhance the overall performance of the nanofiltration membranes. The LbL self-assembled membranes may not afford a long-term use for nanofiltration of aqueous solutions due to extensive membrane swelling over a prolonged period of operation, and thermal and chemical post-treatments (i.e., heat treatment and chemical crosslinking) can be used to improve the membrane stability.