Thermosensitive cross-linked polymer vesicles for controlled release system

Abstract

Thermosensitive cross-linked polymer vesicles were formed by self-assembly of block copolymer poly(2-cinnamoylethyl methacrylate)-block-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PCEMA₆₁-b-PNIPAM₂₂) and subsequent photo-cross-linking PCEMA shells. The ability of these polymer vesicles to load and release 4-aminopyridine (Apy), a model compound, is discussed. It is found that the polymer vesicles can load a large amount of Apy and release the compound at a tunable rate depending on the temperature. The polymer vesicles also show satisfactory reversible and reproducible thermosensitive release characteristics.