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Updated: Dec 26, 2025

Modulating Shape of Polyester Based Polymersomes using Osmotic Pressure
Published on: April 21, 2021
Molecular simulation of the shape deformation of a polymersome
Kaushik Chakraborty1, Wataru Shinoda2, Sharon M Loverde3
1Department of Chemistry, College of Staten Island, The City University of New York, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island, New York, 10314, USA. sharon.loverde@csi.cuny.edu.
Abstract:
Vesicles composed of diblock copolymers, or polymersomes, have proven to possess numerous applications ranging from drug delivery to catalytically driven nano-motors. The shape of a polymersome can be responsive to external stimuli, such as light or solvent. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that the shape change upon the contraction of the inner volume of a polymersome vesicle occurs in two separate regimes-a stretching regime and a bending regime. The barrier is shown to be dependent on the solvent environment. These results suggest that tailoring the bending modulus of polymer membranes can be used as a design methodology to engineer new stimuli-responsive vesicles.
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