Thermally driven dynamic behaviors in polymeric vesicles
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive polymeric vesicles offer a versatile platform for mimicking dynamic cell-like behaviors for synthetic cell applications. In this study, thermally responsive polymeric droplets derived from poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(butylene oxide) (PEO-PBO) polymersomes, aiming to create synthetic cell models that mimic key biological functions are developed. Upon heating, the nanoscale vesicles undergo fusion, transforming into sponge-like microscale droplets enriched with membrane features. By modulating the temperature, these droplets display dynamic properties such as contractility, temperature-induced fusion, and cargo trapping, including small molecules and bacteria, thereby demonstrating their ability to dynamically interface with biological entities. The findings demonstrate the potential of our sponge-like droplets in synthetic cell applications, contributing to the understanding of PEO-PBO polymersomes’ unique characteristics, expanding the capabilities of synthetic cell structures, and representing an exciting possibility for advancing soft matter engineering to cell-like behaviors.
Date Issued
2025-08-21
Date Acceptance
2025-03-01
Citation
Small, 2025, 21 (33)
ISSN
1613-6810
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Small
Volume
21
Issue
33
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Small published by Wiley-VCH GmbH This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/40042428
Subjects
biomimicry
polymersomes
self‐assembly
synthetic cells
thermally responsive
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Germany
Article Number
2411220
Date Publish Online
2025-03-05