We report an experimental study on the mechanical and permeability properties of giant polymersomes made of diblock (PBD-PEO) and triblock (PEO-PPO-PEO) copolymers. These polymer amphiphiles bear the architecture and macromolecular dimensions adequate for assembling stable flat bilayers with a different hydrophobicity. In the highly hydrophobic case (PBD-PEO) an extremely compact membrane is formed, resulting in rigid polymersomes which represent a permeability barrier against solute transport across. In the case of water soluble PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers, the bilayer structure is less stable in favour of the micellar state; therefore giant vesicles can be solely formed at large PPO contents. These cases (PluronicsÒ L121 and its mixtures with P85 and P105) are characterised by a much lower chain entangling than highly hydrophobic membranes, their polymersomes being softer than those based on PBD-PEO. Pluronic-based polymersomes are also found to be highly permeable to hydrophilic solutes, even remaining undamaged in the case of an extreme osmotic shock. This high permeability together with their high flexibility endows Pluronics polymersomes smart core/shell properties ideal to catch large biomolecules inside and able to resist under osmotic and mechanical stresses.

Erythrocytes are flexible cells specialized in the systemic transport of oxygen in vertebrates. This physiological function is connected to their outstanding ability to deform in passing through narrow capillaries. In recent years, there has been an influx of experimental evidence of enhanced cell-shape fluctuations related to metabolically driven activity of the erythroid membrane skeleton. However, no direct observation of the active cytoskeleton forces has yet been reported to our knowledge. Here, we show experimental evidence of the presence of temporally correlated forces superposed over the thermal fluctuations of the erythrocyte membrane. These forces are ATP-dependent and drive enhanced flickering motions in human erythrocytes. Theoretical analyses provide support for a direct force exerted on the membrane by the cytoskeleton nodes as pulses of well-defined average duration. In addition, such metabolically regulated active forces cause global membrane softening, a mechanical attribute related to the functional erythroid deformability.

We study thermal undulations of giant bilayer vesicles by flickering spectroscopy. The experimental fluctuation spectra are scrutinized in view of the classical Helfrich theory. Pure bending modes are revealed to be unable to predict the large fluctuations systematically found at a high wave vector. Hybrid curvature-dilational modes are then invoked as a more efficient mode of motion in producing high curvatures. A bimodal spectrum of the thermal undulations has been theoretically developed for the shell-like topology. Reconciliation between experiments and theory is achieved when this bimodal spectrum is considered.