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Forming Giant-sized Polymersomes Using Gel-assisted Rehydration
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Polydimethylsiloxane-Based Giant Glycosylated Polymersomes with Tunable Bacterial Affinity.
Liam Martin, Pratik Gurnani, Junliang Zhang
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering , Monash University , Clayton , VIC 3800 , Australia.
Biomacromolecules
|January 30, 2019
Summary
Synthetic cell mimics called giant glycosylated polymersomes (GGPs) were created using novel polymers. These GGPs show selective interactions with bacteria, demonstrating tunable responses for protocell applications.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Polymer Chemistry
- Synthetic Biology
Background:
- Developing synthetic cell mimics is crucial for understanding biological processes and creating advanced materials.
- Polymersomes offer a versatile platform for creating artificial cell-like structures.
- Incorporating biological functionalities, such as carbohydrates, can impart specific interactions with biological entities.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize novel glycosylated polymersomes (GGPs) as advanced synthetic cell mimics.
- To investigate the self-assembly behavior and morphology of these GGPs.
- To evaluate the selective binding and interaction of GGPs with biological targets like lectins and bacteria.
Main Methods:
- Synthesis of amphiphilic diblock copolymers using poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) macro-chain transfer agent (macroCTA) and postpolymerization modification.
- Polymerization of 2-bromoethyl acrylate (BEA) followed by substitution with glucose or galactose.
- Characterization of polymersomes using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and light scattering.
- Electroformation method for generating cell-sized GGPs.
- Turbidimetric experiments for lectin binding studies and confocal microscopy for bacterial interaction studies.
Main Results:
- Well-defined PDMS-b-glycopolymer diblock copolymers were successfully synthesized.
- Polymersomes (≈210 nm) and giant polymersomes (GGPs, 2-20 μm) were formed in aqueous solutions.
- Carbohydrate-decorated polymersomes showed selective binding with concanavalin A (Con A).
- Glucose-decorated GGPs clustered upon interaction with fimH positive E. coli.
- Galactose-decorated GGPs interacted with and potentially immobilized E. coli without clustering.
Conclusions:
- Novel glycosylated polymersomes (GGPs) were successfully fabricated using a facile synthetic approach.
- The size and morphology of the synthetic cell mimics can be controlled.
- Selective ligand-receptor interactions were demonstrated, enabling tunable responses of GGPs towards biological entities.
- These findings offer a promising strategy for developing advanced protocells with tailored biological interactions.
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