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Self‐Assembled Block Copolymer Aggregates: From Micelles to Vesicles and their Biological Applications
Author(s) -
Blanazs Adam,
Armes Steven P.,
Ryan Anthony J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
macromolecular rapid communications
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.348
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1521-3927
pISSN - 1022-1336
DOI - 10.1002/marc.200800713
Subject(s) - vesicle , nanotechnology , polymersome , micelle , amphiphile , copolymer , self assembly , polymer , drug delivery , materials science , chemistry , polymer science , organic chemistry , membrane , aqueous solution , biochemistry
The ability of amphiphilic block copolymers to self‐assemble in selective solvents has been widely studied in academia and utilized for various commercial products. The self‐assembled polymer vesicle is at the forefront of this nanotechnological revolution with seemingly endless possible uses, ranging from biomedical to nanometer‐scale enzymatic reactors. This review is focused on the inherent advantages in using polymer vesicles over their small molecule lipid counterparts and the potential applications in biology for both drug delivery and synthetic cellular reactors.