Issue 27, 2023

Recent advances in permeable polymersomes: fabrication, responsiveness, and applications

Abstract

Polymersomes are vesicular nanostructures enclosed by a bilayer-membrane self-assembled from amphiphilic block copolymers, which exhibit higher stability compared with their biological analogues (e.g. liposomes). Due to their versatility, polymersomes have found various applications in different research fields such as drug delivery, nanomedicine, biological nanoreactors, and artificial cells. However, polymersomes prepared with high molecular weight components typically display low permeability to molecules and ions. It hence remains a major challenge to balance the opposing features of robustness and permeability of polymersomes. In this review, we focus on the design and strategies for fabricating permeable polymersomes, including polymersomes with intrinsic permeability, the formation of nanopores in the membrane bilayers by protein insertion, and the construction of stimuli-responsive polymersomes. Then, we highlight the applications of permeable polymersomes in the fields of biomimetic nanoreactors, artificial cells and organelles, and nanomedicine, to underline the challenges in the development of polymersomes as soft matter with biomedical utilities.

Graphical abstract: Recent advances in permeable polymersomes: fabrication, responsiveness, and applications

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
03 4 2023
Accepted
14 6 2023
First published
21 6 2023
This article is Open Access

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

Chem. Sci., 2023,14, 7411-7437

Recent advances in permeable polymersomes: fabrication, responsiveness, and applications

Y. Zhu, S. Cao, M. Huo, J. C. M. van Hest and H. Che, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14, 7411 DOI: 10.1039/D3SC01707A

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