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Mixed Hybrid Lipid/Polymer Vesicles as a Novel Membrane Platform
Author(s) -
Schulz Matthias,
Binder Wolfgang H.
Publication year - 2015
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.201500344
Subject(s) - polymersome , vesicle , membrane , amphiphile , polymer , liposome , biocompatibility , copolymer , materials science , chemical engineering , synthetic membrane , biophysics , nanotechnology , polymer chemistry , chemistry , organic chemistry , biochemistry , composite material , biology , engineering
Vesicles can be individually fabricated from naturally occurring lipid or synthetic block copolymer molecules via self‐assembly in aqueous solutions; the blending of both vesicle‐forming amphiphiles leads to the formation of hybrid membranes. Their final stabilities and lateral morphologies are strongly determined by the molar composition, size, and charge properties of the interacting components as well as by the lipid chain melting temperature. Upon merging the best properties of lipo‐ and polymersomal membranes, hybrid lipid/polymer vesicles represent a new scaffold for medical applications combining, e.g., combining the biocompatibility of liposomes with the high thermal and mechanical stability and functional variability of polymersomes within a single vesicle type. Up to now, several hybrid membrane systems and their corresponding vesicular morphologies have been studied, highlighting the attractive properties and features useful in selective delivery receptor scaffolding.