Open AccessNanoscale Polymersomes as Anti-Cancer Drug Carriers Applied for Pharmaceutical Delivery
Author(s) -
Ruslan G. Tuguntaev,
Chukwunweike Ikechukwu Okeke,
Jing Xu,
Chan Li,
Paul Wang,
XingJie Liang
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
current pharmaceutical design
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.69
H-Index - 159
eISSN - 1873-4286
pISSN - 1381-6128
DOI - 10.2174/1381612822666160217142319
Subject(s) - polymersome , amphiphile , drug delivery , nanotechnology , drug carrier , liposome , chemistry , nanoparticle , materials science , nanomedicine , polymer , copolymer , organic chemistry
Polymersomes are self-assembled nano-vesicles composed of amphiphilic block copolymers. These building blocks can be selected from a large number of hydrophilic and hydrophobic polymers in order to achieve required properties of the final system, such as biodegradability, sustainable and multiple stimuli-response drug release, long blood circulation, and low toxicity. Moreover, the surface of polymersomes can be functionalized to induce targeting character. Polymersomes are able to encapsulate a broad range of hydrophilic or/and hydrophobic molecules either in the aqueous core or membrane bilayer, respectively. In addition, colloidal stability and low membrane fluidity make polymersomes attractive nano-sized drug carriers. The review describes polymersomes compositions, their applications in pharmaceutical delivery, and preparation methods.