Abstract
Polymeric self-assembled structures have been a topic of interest in the last few decades, specifically for the use of biomedical applications, such as drug delivery. It is exciting to investigate the formation of various shapes and sizes of such structures, as the morphology is crucial for their function. In this manuscript the important factors to control the morphology during self-assembly and subsequent shape transformation processes are discussed. We describe the main parameters to control and show the practical application of these parameters on biodegradable amphiphilic PEG-PDLLA block-copolymers. Thereby a variety of different morphologies, including micelles, worms, LCVs, discs, rods, stomatocytes, nested vesicles, and spherical vesicles of various sizes are created using only four diblock-copolymers and with careful tuning of two organic solvents. Further advances will lead to formation of more complex structures.
Highlights
Amphiphilic diblock-copolymers self-assemble in aqueous solutions into nano-sized structures, as the hydrophobic parts cluster together to prevent unfavorable solvent interactions, thereby reducing internal energy.[1]
The goal of this study was to control the self-assembly process of poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(D,L-lactide) (PEG-b-PDLLA) polymersomes and the subsequent shape transformation process to create biodegradable polymersomes with a wide variety of shapes and sizes
We have shown control over the self-assembly and shape transformation of PEG-PDLLA polymersomes
Summary
Amphiphilic diblock-copolymers self-assemble in aqueous solutions into nano-sized structures, as the hydrophobic parts cluster together to prevent unfavorable solvent interactions, thereby reducing internal energy.[1] During self-assembly a variety of different structures can be created, including micellar spheres, worms, and spherical vesicles containing a bilayer membrane, so called polymersomes.[2,3,4] Basically, upon formation of a polymersome, an aqueous lumen is created, surrounded by a protecting membrane bilayer that can be used to shield the inside from harmful conditions. This makes them suitable for many different applications, such as drug delivery or nano-reactors.[6,7,8]
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