Shorter might be better: oligo(oxazoline)s for thermoresponsive polymersomes

Abstract

Amphiphilic poly(2-oxazoline)s offer various opportunities for a number of applications where polymer self-assembly in water is required. Oligomers are particularly interesting for their chain mobility since they can increase the membrane permeability similar to bio-inspired liposomes. Here, the synthesis of various triblock oligomers (oligoOx) was investigated using only oxazoline monomers with hydrophilic 2-methyl-2-oxazoline (MeOx) and hydrophobic 2-butyl-2-oxazoline (BuOx). OligoOx with various MeOx/BuOx ratios were self-assembled in PBS by direct dissolution or film rehydration and evaluated using DLS and TEM. The formed large vesicles were thermoresponsive with reversible swelling/deswelling at a cloud point of 30 °C. These oligomeric architectures could open a new path for the preparation of stable and permeable polymersomes mimicking cellular compartments.