Macromolecular design and preparation of polymersomes

Abstract

From drug delivery to nanoreactors and protocells, polymersomes have gained considerable interest from researchers due to their novel applications. However, one of the main challenges is the selection of the...

Block copolymer solution self‐assembly: Recent advances, emerging trends, and applications

“…BCP vesicles or polymersomes were first observed in 1995 by the groups of Eisenberg and Meijer and since then have been at the focus of extended research activity not only due to academic interest, but also in view of their potential applications 4,13,37 . Polymersomes are typically hollow spheres with a hydrophobic wall and hydrophilic internal and external coronas.…”

“…On the other hand, solution displacement methods like direct injection, emulsion phase transfer and microfluidics involve the use of an organic cosolvent to dissolve the BCPs, followed by the addition of this polymer solution in aqueous solution and subsequent removal of the organic solvent. A detailed overview of these diverse preparation methods is given in the recent reviews of Lefley et al 37 and Iqbal et al 46 Through the selection of the appropriate method not only characteristics relative to polymersome size and size distribution can be tailored, but the corresponding shape can also be tuned, even developing nonspherical structures.…”

How does the hydrophobic content of methacrylate ABA triblock copolymers affect polymersome formation?

“…Polymersomes are hollow polymeric vesicles made from amphiphilic copolymers. [1][2][3][4][5] The amphiphilic membrane of polymersomes is cell-mimicking, and has enhanced stability, durability and more tunable functionalization 6 compared to liposomes, 7 thus triggering intensive interest during the past decades. 4 Due to the amphiphilic nature of polymersomes, both hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules can be encapsulated, absorbed, and dispersed in them, leading to their wide use in drug delivery, medical imaging, and other pharmaceutical applications.…”

“…Polymersomes can be formed from diblock, triblock, and multiblock copolymers with various membrane conformations: AB, ABA, ABC, and so on., where A, C stand for hydrophilic blocks while B stands for the hydrophobic block. 5,18 One example of polymersomes formed by ABA block copolymers structure is: poly(2-methyloxazoline)block-poly(dimethylsiloxane)-block-poly(2-methyloxazoline) (PMOXA-b-PDMS-b-PMOXA). These commercially available copolymers were used to produce nano-reactors, which were investigated in terms of their ability to incorporate membrane proteins.…”

“…Polymersomes are hollow polymeric vesicles made from amphiphilic copolymers 1–5 . The amphiphilic membrane of polymersomes is cell‐mimicking, and has enhanced stability, durability and more tunable functionalization 6 compared to liposomes, 7 thus triggering intensive interest during the past decades 4 .…”