EPJ E - Polymersomes made-to-measure

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Published on 22 March 2011

The use of polymersomes in drug delivery, medical imaging, micro-reactors or to mimic biophysical membrane phenomena is greatly dependent on the extent to which their properties can be controlled and tuned.

Polymersomes are vescicular structures made from the self-assemby of block copolymers. Since the late nineties they have been the subject of intense research. A Colloquium in EPJ E reviews the various approaches to modulating the properties and behavior of polymersomes based on either molecular design of the constituting blocs or addition of specific components to the membrane. The different approaches allow modulations from the physical, structural and functional points of view.