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Membrane Engineering: Phase Separation in Polymeric Giant Vesicles
Author(s) -
Rideau Emeline,
Wurm Frederik R.,
Landfester Katharina
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201905230
Subject(s) - vesicle , polymer , membrane , amphiphile , materials science , phase (matter) , nanotechnology , copolymer , chemistry , chemical engineering , organic chemistry , biochemistry , engineering
Cell membranes exhibit elaborate lipidic patterning to carry out a myriad of functions such as signaling and trafficking. Domain formation in giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) is thus of interest for understanding fundamental biological processes and to provide new prospects for biocompatible soft materials. Lipid rearrangements in lipidic GUVs and lipid/polymer GUVs are extensively studied whereas polymer/polymer hybrid GUVs remain evasive. Here, the focus is on the thermodynamically driven phase separation of amphiphilic polymers in GUVs. It is demonstrated that polymer phase separation is entropically dictated by hydrophobic block incompatibilities and that films topology can help to determine the outcome of polymeric phase separation in GUVs. Lastly, Janus‐GUVs are obtained and GUVs exhibit a single large domain by using a compatibilizing hydrophobic block copolymer.