Polymersomes formulations

Recently, the group of Battaglia used poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl-phosphorylcholine)-copoly(2-(diisopropylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PMPC-PDPA) diblock copolymers to prepare biomimetic and pH-sensitive polymersomes for gene delivery [218]. These formulations encapsulated and released DNA in a pH-controlled manner. Notably, the pH drop was sufficient to trigger the transition from DNA-loaded vesicles to DNA-copolymer complexes. 

Polymersomes offer advantages for clinical therapeutic and diagnostic imaging applications. The ratio of the hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic volume fraction is the key in determining the mesoscopic formulations among micelles (spherical, prolate, or oblate) or vesicles (polymersomes) in aqueous solution [33-35]. In general, a proportion of hydrophilic block-to-total polymer from 25 to 45% favors polymersome formation, while block copolymers that have proportions greater than 45% favors micelle formation [36]. 

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