Hierarchical self-assembly offers great possibilities to mimic biological systems with finely arranged complex structures. Herein, we demonstrate the preparation and formation mechanism of an unusual giant polymer vesicle with a latticelike membrane (GVLM). This GVLM is formed by fusion-induced particle assembly (FIPA) of small vesicles that are self-assembled from poly(ethylene oxide)--poly[(2-(tetrahydrofuranyloxy)ethyl methacrylate)--(6-(3,3-diphenylnaphthopyranyloxy)hexyl methacrylate)] [PEO--P(TMA--NMA)].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn ideal gene carrier requires an excellent gating system to efficiently load, protect, deliver, and release environmentally sensitive nucleic acids on demand. Presented in this communication is a polymersome with a "boarding gate" and a "debarkation gate" in the membrane to complete the above important missions. This dually gated polymersome is self-assembled from a block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)- block-poly[ N-isopropylacrylamide- stat-7-(2-methacryloyloxyethoxy)-4-methylcoumarin- stat-2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] [PEO- b-P(NIPAM- stat-CMA- stat-DEA)].
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs an emerging field that is receiving an increasing amount of interest, theranostics is becoming increasingly important in the field of nanomedicine. Among the various smart platforms that have been proposed for use in theranostics, polymer vesicles (or polymersomes) are among the most promising candidates for integration of designated functionalities and modalities. Here, a brief summary of typical theranostic platforms is presented with a focus on modular polymer vesicles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIt is an important challenge for bone repair to effectively deliver growth factors and at the same time to prevent and cure inflammation without obvious pathogen resistance. We designed a kind of antibacterial peptide-mimetic alternating copolymers (PMACs) to effectively inhibit and kill both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The minimum inhibition concentrations (MICs) of the PMACs against E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntimicrobial resistance is an increasingly problematic issue in the world and there is a present and urgent need to develop new antimicrobial therapies without drug resistance. Antibacterial polymers are less susceptible to drug resistance but they are prone to inducing serious side effects due to high positive charge. Herein we report a peptide-grafted hyperbranched polymer which can self-assemble into unusual nanosheets with highly effective intrinsically antibacterial activity but weak positive charges (+ 6.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe apparent size increase of poly(N-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM)-based polymeric micelles upon heating was usually ascribed to their volume growth or aggregation in aqueous solution. Herein we designed a photo-cross-linkable PNIPAM-based copolymer and proposed another thermo-responsive behaviour - fusion, which is disclosed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) after in situ fixing morphologies at desired temperatures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe efficient removal of trace carcinogenic organic pollutants, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and ionic dyes, from water is an important technical challenge. We report a highly effective recyclable multifunctional azobenzene (AZ)-based silica-supported polymeric adsorbent which can simultaneously remove both PAHs and anionic dyes from water to below parts per billion (ppb) level based on multiple interactions such as the hydrophobic effect, π-π stacking and electrostatic interactions, thus providing a new strategy for designer water remediation materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Commun (Camb)
December 2014
The high incidence of bacterial infection and the growing resistance of bacteria to conventional antibiotics have resulted in the strong need for the development of new generation of antibiotics. Nano-sized particles have been considered as novel antibacterial agents with high surface area and high reactivity. The overall antibacterial properties of antimicrobial nanostructures can be significantly enhanced compared with conventional antibacterial agents not in a regular nanostructure, showing a better effect in inhibiting the growth and reproduction of microbials such as bacteria and fungi, etc.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe facile loading of sensitive and fragile biomacromolecules, such as glucose oxidase, hemoglobin, and ribonucleic acid (RNA), via synthetic vehicles directly in pure aqueous media is an important technical challenge. Inspired by the nucleus pore complex that connects the cell nucleus and the cytoplasm across the nuclear envelope, here we describe the development of a kind of polymeric nuclear envelope-like vesicle (NEV) to address this problem. The NEV is tailored to form the polymer pore complex (70 nm, similar to a nucleus pore complex) within the vesicle membrane based on nanophase segregation, which is confirmed via fluorescence spectrometry and dynamic light scattering (DLS) during self-assembly.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Colloid Interface Sci
November 2012
Magnetic hollow mesoporous silica microspheres (MHMSs) were successfully prepared by employing yolk-shell magnetic silica spheres as the template together with the coating of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)/hexadecyl trimethoxysilane (C(16)TMS) hybrid. The microstructure and properties of MHMSs were studied by TEM, SEM, XRD, BET, and VSM characterizations. The average diameter of MHMSs was about 300 nm and the mesoporous shell thickness was totally around 70 nm.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFYolk-shell composites with an Fe(3)O(4)/silica hybrid shell and a polymer core are prepared via a facile one-pot and self-template process. Thicknesses of the inorganic shell and interior space of the composites are well controlled by tuning the ternary phase separations.
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