Glycopolymer vesicles with an asymmetric membrane

摘要

Direct dissolution of glycosylated polybutadiene-poly(ethylene oxide) block copolymers can lead to the spontaneous formation of vesicles or membranes, which on the outside are coated with glucose and on the inside with poly(ethylene oxide).rnPolymer vesicles, also referred to as "polymersomes," are considered as model biomembranes for applications in life science and biomedicine. Block copolymer vesicles with broadly adjustable properties including stability, fluidity, and dynamics can have a better performance than the phospho-lipid membranes of biological cells. Especially interesting are peptide- and sugar-based biohybrid polymers and vesicles, which may inherit all the advantageous features of synthetic polymers (elasticity, solubility, etc.) and biological polymers (functionality, biocompatibility, etc.). Glycopolymers are currently "booming" because of their easy availability and potential use in cell sensing, therapeutics, and synthetic biology.