Multicompartment Vesicles Formation by Emulsification‐Induced Assembly of Poly(ethylene oxide)‐block‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) and Their Dual‐Loading Capability

Abstract

Emulsification-induced assembly is employed to allow structural diversity in nanoaggregates of a biocompatible amphiphilic polymer, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone). Onion-like vesicles are efficiently produced by tuning the interfacial instability of the oil-in-water emulsion. The increase in the polymer concentration and use of the organic solvents with a low interfacial tension between water and the oil phase lead to a strong tendency of emulsion droplets to generate the onion-like vesicles. The vesicular networks and fibers are also obtained by controlling the concentration and type of the surfactant, respectively. Interestingly, the onion-like vesicles composed of alternating walls and water channels and the vesicular networks originated from a string of vesicles show dual-loading ability for hydrophobic and hydrophilic dyes but slightly different loading capacities. This result indicates that the development of a methodology to fabricate well-defined, unique nanostructures, such as multivesicular and multilamellar nanostructures, and subsequent elucidation of their structure-property relationships can provide useful guidance in the design of novel biomedical materials.

Physically and Chemically Compartmentalized Polymersomes for Programmed Delivery and Biological Applications

“…Besides the aforementioned strategies, there are also examples for the preparation of MCPs by double emulsification, coprecipitation and sol–gel transition. ,,,, For example, Wu et al designed a simple ABA triblock copolymer PCL- b -PEG- b -PCL and prepared a stable multicompartment emulsion by handshaking in an organic solvent (Figure A). This mild emulsion formulation could successfully enhance the encapsulation of vulnerable biocatalysts, such as benzaldehyde lyase (BAL) and alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH).…”

“…MCPs with physical compartmentalization usually contain several compartments in the cavity. 78−80 There are several types of physical compartmentalization including vesicles-invesicles, 81,82 onion-like vesicles, 63,83 capsosomes, 84 large compound vesicles (LCV), 85,86 as shown in Scheme 2.…”

“…MCPs with physical compartmentalization usually contain several compartments in the cavity. − There are several types of physical compartmentalization including vesicles-in-vesicles, , onion-like vesicles, , capsosomes, large compound vesicles (LCV), , as shown in Scheme . Compared with conventional polymersomes with single compartment, MCPs with physical compartmentalization contain more than one distinct compartments in the cavity, which brings new opportunities in programmed loading and delivery of cargoes, ,, antimicrobial, biocatalysis and cell mimics. ,, Theoretically, each compartment can load one kind of component or be endowed with one function.…”

“…Each compartment was loaded independently with different biomolecules and magnetic nanoparticles, which could be used for coupled enzyme reaction with good reusability. Lee and co-workers proposed an emulsification-induced assembly strategy to prepare onion-like polymersomes by adjusting the interfacial instability of oil-in-water emulsions of PEO- b -PCL. Increasing the polymer concentration and the use of organic solvents with low interfacial tension of water–oil phase were found to be beneficial for the formation of onion-like polymersomes.…”

Liquid–Liquid Phase Separation at Double Emulsion Interfaces: Equilibrium Structures and Dynamic Pathways

“…Multicomponent blends of biocompatible homopolymers − or block copolymers , can be used as the middle oil layer. The liquid–liquid phase separation in the membrane may create functional regions for various chemical or biological purposes. , Those microcapsule structures can load cargoes inside for controlled release, − which are broadly used in drug delivery, − food , and cosmetics industry. − One common challenge in these interdisciplinary areas is to regulate the liquid–liquid phase separation at emulsion interfaces.…”