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Updated: Jul 12, 2025
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Targeted Plasma Membrane Delivery of a Hydrophobic Cargo Encapsulated in a Liquid Crystal Nanoparticle Carrier
Published on: February 8, 2017
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Polymersome Membrane Engineering with Active Targeting or Controlled Permeability for Responsive Drug Delivery
Anum Kayani1,2, Arsalan Raza1,2, Jiale Si1
1School of Chemistry, Engineering Research Center of Energy Storage Materials and Devices, Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, Shaanxi, China.
Biomacromolecules
|October 23, 2023
Summary
Polymersomes, used as nanocarriers for drug delivery, are enhanced through surface functionalization for targeted delivery and stimuli-responsive membranes for controlled release, overcoming previous limitations.
Area of Science:
- Biomaterials Science
- Nanotechnology
- Drug Delivery Systems
Background:
- Polymersomes offer advantages as nanocarriers, including stability, dual drug encapsulation, and tunable properties.
- Limitations of traditional polymersomes include non-specific delivery and inadequate membrane permeability.
- Recent advancements focus on functionalizing polymersomes to enhance targeting and control drug release.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the engineering of polymersome membranes for improved drug delivery applications.
- To highlight surface functionalization strategies for active targeting.
- To summarize recent progress in stimuli-responsive membranes for controlled drug release.
Main Methods:
- Review of literature on polymersome functionalization for drug delivery.
- Analysis of surface modification techniques for active targeting.
- Examination of stimuli-responsive components for membrane permeability control.
Main Results:
- Surface functionalization enables targeted delivery to specific diseases, cells, or organelles.
- Incorporation of stimuli-responsive elements allows for controlled drug release kinetics.
- Engineered polymersome biointerfaces offer versatile platforms for advanced nanomedicine.
Conclusions:
- Polymersome membrane engineering is crucial for overcoming limitations in drug delivery.
- Surface functionalization and stimuli-responsive design are key strategies for next-generation polymersomes.
- Further development holds promise for effective in vivo drug delivery applications.
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