Issue 12, 2024

Controlled node growth on the surface of polymersomes

Abstract

Incorporating nucleobases into synthetic polymers has proven to be a versatile method for controlling self-assembly. The formation of strong directional hydrogen bonds between complementary nucleobases provides a driving force that permits access to complex particle morphologies. Here, nucleobase pairing was used to direct the formation and lengthening of nodes on the outer surface of vesicles formed from polymers (polymersomes) functionalised with adenine in their membrane-forming domains. Insertion of a self-assembling short diblock copolymer containing thymine into the polymersome membranes caused an increase in steric crowding at the hydrophilic/hydrophobic interface, which was relieved by initial node formation and subsequent growth. Nano-objects were imaged by (cryo-)TEM, which permitted quantification of node coverage and length. The ability to control node growth on the surface of polymersomes provides a new platform to develop higher-order nanomaterials with tailorable properties.

Graphical abstract: Controlled node growth on the surface of polymersomes

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
04 Nov 2023
Accepted
16 Feb 2024
First published
16 Feb 2024
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2024,15, 4396-4402

Controlled node growth on the surface of polymersomes

M. Thomas, S. Varlas, T. R. Wilks, S. D. P. Fielden and R. K. O'Reilly, Chem. Sci., 2024, 15, 4396 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC05915D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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