Forming Giant-sized Polymersomes Using Gel-assisted Rehydration

Greene, Adrienne C.; Sasaki, Darryl Y.; Bachand, George D.

doi:10.3791/54051

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…A recent study by Dionzou et al clearly pointed out that the nature of the block copolymer and conditions needed to reproducibly obtain polymersome GUVs are challenging to determine. 67 In gel-assisted hydration, [83][84][85]98,99 the surface is pre-coated with dissolved agarose or poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in warm water, and dried to form a thin gel layer before forming the amphiphile layer. The driving force is the swelling of the hydrogel when the coated surface is placed in aqueous medium.…”

Section: Vesicle Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liposomes and polymersomes: a comparative review towards cell mimicking

et al. 2018

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Cells are integral to all forms of life due to their compartmentalization by the plasma membrane. However, living organisms are immensely complex. Thus there is a need for simplified and controllable models of life for a deeper understanding of fundamental biological processes and man-made applications. This is where the bottom-up approach of synthetic biology comes from: a stepwise assembly of biomimetic functionalities ultimately into a protocell. A fundamental feature of such an endeavor is the generation and control of model membranes such as liposomes and polymersomes. We compare and contrast liposomes and polymersomes for a better a priori choice and design of vesicles and try to understand the advantages and shortcomings associated with using one or the other in many different aspects (properties, synthesis, self-assembly, applications) and which aspects have been studied and developed with each type and update the current development in the field.

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Section: Vesicle Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liposomes and polymersomes: a comparative review towards cell mimicking

et al. 2018

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“…Amphiphiles with a hydrophilic/lipophilic balance ratio, HLB, of about 10, or with packing parameters, , where v is the volume of the hydrophobic group, l c is the critical length of the hydrophobic group, and a 0 is the preferred area of the hydrophilic group, assemble into vesicles when present above their critical aggregation concentration in aqueous solutions. A variety of chemically distinct molecules such as phospholipids, sphingolipids, fatty acids, , fatty alcohols, , and amphiphilic block copolymers − assemble into vesicles. Vesicles assembled from these amphiphiles have fundamental importance in basic research and applied technologies ranging from their use as chemical reactors, − models for primitive cells, − artificial cells, − contrast agents, , drug carriers, − and artificial blood. − Various methods have been reported for assembling vesicles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fatty acid vesicles can also form on surfaces such as on the clay montomorillonite and on hydrocarbon covered glass . Polymersomes from diblock and triblock copolymers have been produced through gentle hydration, ,,, through electroformation , through microfluidic methods, , and through gel-assisted hydration. ,− …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cellulose Abetted Assembly and Temporally Decoupled Loading of Cargo into Vesicles Synthesized from Functionally Diverse Lamellar Phase Forming Amphiphiles

Pazzi

et al. 2018

Biomacromolecules

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Self-assembled micrometer-scale vesicles composed of lamellar phase forming amphiphiles are useful as chemical microreactors, as minimal artificial cells, as protocell mimics for studies of the origins of life, and as vehicles for the targeted delivery of drugs. Given their varied uses, discovery of a universal mechanism that is simple, rapid, and that produces vesicles from a large variety of amphiphiles with different chemical and physical properties at high yield is extremely desirable. Here we show that cellulose, in the form of cellulose paper, facilitates the assembly of membranous vesicles 5-20 μm in diameter from scientifically and technologically important amphiphiles of diverse chemical structures and functionality such as fatty acids (fatty acid vesicles), amphiphilic diblock copolymers, and amphiphilic triblock copolymers (polymersomes). Assembly of vesicles occurred within 90 min of placing the amphiphile-coated cellulose paper into aqueous solutions. Varying thermal and chemical conditions, however, are required for the high-yield assembly of vesicles from the different amphiphiles. The vesicles, when attached to cellulose fibers, have membranes that remain unsealed. This topological characteristic of the vesicles grown on paper allowed the scalable separation of the process of growth from the process of loading cargo (temporally decoupled growth and loading). We demonstrate a temporally decoupled process to rapidly produce large quantities of protein-loaded polymersomes on the benchtop by using high temperatures to accelerate the growth of the polymersomes and subsequently milder temperatures during diffusive loading of the protein cargo.

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“…Polymersomes were prepared from the diblock copolymer, polyethylene oxide- b -polybutadiene (PBD 35 - b -PEO 20 ) (Polymer Source, Montreal, QC, Canada) by the gel-assisted rehydration method [ 22 ]. The diblock copolymer was dissolved in chloroform at a concentration of 5 mg/mL.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Polymersome Poration and Rupture Mediated by Plasmonic Nanoparticles in Response to Single-Pulse Irradiation

et al. 2020

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The self-assembly of amphiphilic diblock copolymers into polymeric vesicles, commonly known as polymersomes, results in a versatile system for a variety of applications including drug delivery and microreactors. In this study, we show that the incorporation of hydrophobic plasmonic nanoparticles within the polymersome membrane facilitates light-stimulated release of vesicle encapsulants. This work seeks to achieve tunable, triggered release with non-invasive, spatiotemporal control using single-pulse irradiation. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are incorporated as photosensitizers into the hydrophobic membrane of micron-scale polymersomes and the cargo release profile is controlled by varying the pulse energy and nanoparticle concentration. We have demonstrated the ability to achieve immediate vesicle rupture as well as vesicle poration resulting in temporal cargo diffusion. Additionally, changing the pulse duration, from femtosecond to nanosecond, provides mechanistic insight into the photothermal and photomechanical contributors that govern membrane disruption in this polymer–nanoparticle hybrid system.

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Forming Giant-sized Polymersomes Using Gel-assisted Rehydration

Cited by 6 publications

References 13 publications

Liposomes and polymersomes: a comparative review towards cell mimicking

Liposomes and polymersomes: a comparative review towards cell mimicking

Cellulose Abetted Assembly and Temporally Decoupled Loading of Cargo into Vesicles Synthesized from Functionally Diverse Lamellar Phase Forming Amphiphiles

Polymersome Poration and Rupture Mediated by Plasmonic Nanoparticles in Response to Single-Pulse Irradiation

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