Macromolecular Rapid Communications, Vol.37, No.1, 60-66, 2016
Pentafl uorophenyl Ester-based Polymersomes as Nanosized Drug-Delivery Vehicles
In this work, activated ester chemistry is employed to synthesize biocompatible and readily functionalizable polymersomes. Via aminolysis of pentafl uorophenyl methacrylate-based precursor polymers, an N-(2-hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA)-analog hydrophilic block is obtained. The precursor polymers can be versatile functionalized by simple addition of suitable primary amines during aminolysis as demonstrated using a fl uorescent dye. Vesicle formation is proven by cryoTEM and light scattering. High encapsulation effi ciencies for hydrophilic cargo like siRNA are achieved using dual centrifugation and safe encapsulation is demonstrated by gel electrophoresis. In vitro studies reveal low cytotoxicity and no protein adsorptioninduced aggregation in human blood serum occurs, making the vesicles interesting candidates as nanosized drug carriers.