Vesicles and polymerized vesicles from thiophene-containing rod-coil block copolymers.

Abstract

Spontaneous formation of vesicles in both organic solvents and water is observed for new rod-coil-type diblock copolymers containing thiophene groups. The thiophene groups located in the skin of the aggregates can couple to give polymerized vesicles (see picture and cover picture). The vesicles are capable of including enzymes, which results in catalytically active microreactors that are permeable to substrate molecules.