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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Single-Molecule Diffusion and Assembly on Polymer-Crowded Lipid Membranes
Published on: July 19, 2022
Passive diffusion of polymeric surfactants across lipid bilayers
Frédéric Mathot1, A Schanck, F Van Bambeke
1Université Catholique de Louvain, Unité de Pharmacie Galénique, UCL, Brussels, Belgium.
Abstract:
Self-assembling polymeric surfactant, mmePEG(750)P(CL-co-TMC) [monomethylether poly(ethylene glycol)(750)-poly(caprolactone-co-trimethylene carbonate)], increases drug solubility and crosses an enterocyte monolayer both in vitro and in vivo. The aims of the present work were to investigate whether mmePEG(750)P(CL-co-TMC) polymers can diffuse passively through lipid bilayer using parallel artificial membrane permeability assay (PAMPA) and affect membrane properties using liposomes as model. The mmePEG(750)P(CL-co-TMC) polymer was able to cross by passive diffusion an enterocyte-mimicking membrane in PAMPA at concentration which did not perturb membrane integrity. A weak rigidification associated with a low increase in permeability of liposomal lipid bilayers was observed. These data suggest that polymeric surfactants can cross the lipid membrane by passive diffusion and interact with lipid bilayers.
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