The Polymer Society of Korea

Abstract

Polymersomes are synthetic vesicles with bilayer membranes made of amphiphilic block copolymers, and serve as representative artificial cell models for applications such as drug delivery, biosensing, and bioreactors. Among the block copolymers used to prepare polymersomes, Polybutadiene-b-Polyethylene oxide (PB-PEO) is non-toxic and highly stability. Despite these advantages, PB-PEO polymersomes have been reported to exhibit limited responsiveness to external stimuli. Herein, we propose photo-responsive changes in the molecular permeability of polymersomes by exploiting photoisomeric analogs of PB-PEO block copolymers containing azobenzene. The resulting polymersomes can precisely regulate molecular transport of molecules or ions through photoisomerization under UV irradiation. We anticipate that this will enable selective molecular transfer, which is essential for artificial cell models, and allow active control of inter-/intra biochemical reactions in response to external stimuli.