Synthesis and characterization of light-responsive biodegradable tubular polymersomes†
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive polymersomes have been explored extensively as drug nanocarriers, nanoreactors, and artificial cells and organelles. However, the morphology of stimuli-responsive polymersomes has mainly been limited to spherical vesicles. In this work, we have reported the first example of biodegradable light-responsive tubular polymersomes based on the hydrophilic poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and hydrophobic poly(trimethylene carbonate-azobenzene) [P(TMC-AZO)] amphiphilic diblock copolymer. The block copolymer PEG-b-P(TMC-AZO)n was prepared via postpolymerization functionalization of poly(TMC-OC6F5) with AZO-amine. Light-responsive AZO-containing tubular polymersomes were obtained by optimizing the polymerization degree, water content, and ionic strength. The tubular polymersomes demonstrated photo-responsive behavior upon UV/Vis light irradiation, and the tubular structures were transformed to linear micelles upon light stimulation. These biodegradable tubular polymersomes are expected to have potential applications in nanomedicine, bio-inspired systems and responsive smart materials.