However, the use of organic media and the synthesis of polydisperse nanoparticles limit their use for some specific applications in where monodisperse nanoparticles are required [24, 25]. Alternative procedures for the synthesis of Au or AgNPs are BIBF 1120 based on the use of water soluble polymers with the aim of achieving size-controlled nanoparticles. Wang and co-workers have obtained AuNPs in aqueous solution in the 1–5 nm size range with the use of poly(methacrylic acid) (PMMA) [26, 27]. Keuker-Baumann

and co-workers reported a study about the formation of AgNPs with a high control and a characteristic plasmon band at 410 nm is observed using dilute solutions of long-chain sodium polyacrylates (NaPA) by exposing the solutions to UV-radiation [28] in where the coil size of the polymeric selleck compound chains acts as a collector of silver cations (Ag+). Other researches have investigated the formation of AgNPs and intermediate

clusters in polyacrylate aqueous solutions by chemical reduction of Ag + using a reducing agent, gamma radiation or ambient light [29–32]. Very recently, our group has described the synthesis of multicolor silver nanoparticles with a high stability in time, using poly(acrylic acid, sodium salt) (PAA) as a protective agent, in where the AgNPs exhibit localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) spectra (colors) as a function of variable protective and reducing agents with a well-defined shape and size [33]. Once triclocarban the metallic nanoparticles have been synthesized, a further assembly in the form of thin films is required to obtain the desired silver nanoparticle composites. However, this is not always possible Erismodegib concentration because of the need of preserving the

aggregation state of the nanoparticles. Several approaches are based on the incorporation of the nanoparticles into a previous polymeric matrix obtained by different thin film techniques, such as sol–gel deposition or electrospinning process [34, 35]. In all the cases, the presence of an intense absorption band at 410 nm is indicative of spherical AgNPs with a characteristic yellow coloration. In this work, layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly allows to manipulate and incorporate the nanoparticles into the thin films due to the use of PAA as a protective agent which maintains unaltered the aggregation state of the AgNPs. This technique is based on the alternating deposition of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes in water solution (polycations and polyanions) on substrates where the electrostatic interaction between these two components of different charge is the driving force for the multilayer assembly [36]. Previous works are based on the in situ synthesis of AgNPs in the polyelectrolyte multilayers via counterion exchange and posterior reduction [37–41].