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Li W, Zhang S, Sun M, Kleuskens S, Wilson DA. Shape Transformation of Polymer Vesicles. ACCOUNTS OF MATERIALS RESEARCH 2024; 5:453-466. [PMID: 38694189 PMCID: PMC11059097 DOI: 10.1021/accountsmr.3c00253] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 02/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024]
Abstract
Life activities, such as respiration, are accomplished through the continuous shape modulation of cells, tissues, and organs. Developing smart materials with shape-morphing capability is a pivotal step toward life-like systems and emerging technologies of wearable electronics, soft robotics, and biomimetic actuators. Drawing inspiration from cells, smart vesicular systems have been assembled to mimic the biological shape modulation. This would enable the understanding of cellular shape adaptation and guide the design of smart materials with shape-morphing capability. Polymer vesicles assembled by amphiphilic molecules are an example of remarkable vesicular systems. The chemical versatility, physical stability, and surface functionality promise their application in nanomedicine, nanoreactor, and biomimetic systems. However, it is difficult to drive polymer vesicles away from equilibrium to induce shape transformation due to the unfavorable energy landscapes caused by the low mobility of polymer chains and low permeability of the vesicular membrane. Extensive studies in the past decades have developed various methods including dialysis, chemical addition, temperature variation, polymerization, gas exchange, etc., to drive shape transformation. Polymer vesicles can now be engineered into a variety of nonspherical shapes. Despite the brilliant progress, most of the current studies regarding the shape transformation of polymer vesicles still lie in the trial-and-error stage. It is a grand challenge to predict and program the shape transformations of polymer vesicles. An in-depth understanding of the deformation pathway of polymer vesicles would facilitate the transition from the trial-and-error stage to the computing stage. In this Account, we introduce recent progress in the shape transformation of polymer vesicles. To provide an insightful analysis, the shape transformation of polymer vesicles is divided into basic and coupled deformation. First, we discuss the basic deformation of polymer vesicles with a focus on two deformation pathways: the oblate pathway and the prolate pathway. Strategies used to trigger different deformation pathways are introduced. Second, we discuss the origin of the selectivity of two deformation pathways and the strategies used to control the selectivity. Third, we discuss the coupled deformation of polymer vesicles with a focus on the switch and coupling of two basic deformation pathways. Last, we analyze the challenges and opportunities in the shape transformation of polymer vesicles. We envision that a systematic understanding of the deformation pathway would push the shape transformation of polymer vesicles from the trial-and-error stage to the computing stage. This would enable the prediction of deformation behaviors of nanoparticles in complex environments, like blood and interstitial tissue, and access to advanced architecture desirable for man-made applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Li
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Shaohua Zhang
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Mingchen Sun
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Kleuskens
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Daniela A. Wilson
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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2
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Pan H, Zhang C, Jiang W, Zhou Y. Living Self-Assembly of Monodisperse Micron-Sized Polymer Vesicles. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024:e202404589. [PMID: 38654509 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202404589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2024] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Artificial vesicles are recognized as powerful platforms for a large body of research across the disciplines of chemistry, physics and biology. Despite the great progress, control of the size distribution to make uniform vesicles remains fundamentally difficult due to the highly uncontrollable growth kinetics, especially for micron-sized vesicles. Here we report a template-free living self-assembly method to prepare monodisperse vesicles around 1 μm from an alternating copolymer. The polymer forms nanodisks (ca. 9 nm) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), acting as seeds for subsequent growth. By adding water, the nanodisks gradually grow into larger circular bilayer nanosheets, which bend to crowns and continue to grow into uniform micron-sized vesicles. The first-order growth kinetics as well as the small size polydispersity index (<0.1) suggests the living self-assembly characteristics. This work paves a new way in both living self-assembly and monodisperse polymer vesicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Pan
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Changxu Zhang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Wenfeng Jiang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, P. R. China
| | - Yongfeng Zhou
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Frontiers Science Center for Transformative Molecules, State Key Laboratory of Metal Matrix Composites, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, 200240, Shanghai, P. R. China
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3
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Belluati A, Jimaja S, Chadwick RJ, Glynn C, Chami M, Happel D, Guo C, Kolmar H, Bruns N. Artificial cell synthesis using biocatalytic polymerization-induced self-assembly. Nat Chem 2024; 16:564-574. [PMID: 38049652 PMCID: PMC10997521 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01391-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023]
Abstract
Artificial cells are biomimetic microstructures that mimic functions of natural cells, can be applied as building blocks for molecular systems engineering, and host synthetic biology pathways. Here we report enzymatically synthesized polymer-based artificial cells with the ability to express proteins. Artificial cells were synthesized using biocatalytic atom transfer radical polymerization-induced self-assembly, in which myoglobin synthesizes amphiphilic block co-polymers that self-assemble into structures such as micelles, worm-like micelles, polymersomes and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs). The GUVs encapsulate cargo during the polymerization, including enzymes, nanoparticles, microparticles, plasmids and cell lysate. The resulting artificial cells act as microreactors for enzymatic reactions and for osteoblast-inspired biomineralization. Moreover, they can express proteins such as a fluorescent protein and actin when fed with amino acids. Actin polymerizes in the vesicles and alters the artificial cells' internal structure by creating internal compartments. Thus, biocatalytic atom transfer radical polymerization-induced self-assembly-derived GUVs can mimic bacteria as they are composed of a microscopic reaction compartment that contains genetic information for protein expression upon induction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Belluati
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, UK.
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Synthetic Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
| | - Sètuhn Jimaja
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Robert J Chadwick
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, UK
| | - Christopher Glynn
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Dominic Happel
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Synthetic Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Chao Guo
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, UK
| | - Harald Kolmar
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Synthetic Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Nico Bruns
- Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry, University of Strathclyde, Thomas Graham Building, Glasgow, UK.
- Department of Chemistry and Centre for Synthetic Biology, Technical University of Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany.
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4
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Maffeis V, Heuberger L, Nikoletić A, Schoenenberger C, Palivan CG. Synthetic Cells Revisited: Artificial Cells Construction Using Polymeric Building Blocks. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2305837. [PMID: 37984885 PMCID: PMC10885666 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202305837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The exponential growth of research on artificial cells and organelles underscores their potential as tools to advance the understanding of fundamental biological processes. The bottom-up construction from a variety of building blocks at the micro- and nanoscale, in combination with biomolecules is key to developing artificial cells. In this review, artificial cells are focused upon based on compartments where polymers are the main constituent of the assembly. Polymers are of particular interest due to their incredible chemical variety and the advantage of tuning the properties and functionality of their assemblies. First, the architectures of micro- and nanoscale polymer assemblies are introduced and then their usage as building blocks is elaborated upon. Different membrane-bound and membrane-less compartments and supramolecular structures and how they combine into advanced synthetic cells are presented. Then, the functional aspects are explored, addressing how artificial organelles in giant compartments mimic cellular processes. Finally, how artificial cells communicate with their surrounding and each other such as to adapt to an ever-changing environment and achieve collective behavior as a steppingstone toward artificial tissues, is taken a look at. Engineering artificial cells with highly controllable and programmable features open new avenues for the development of sophisticated multifunctional systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viviana Maffeis
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of BaselMattenstrasse 22BaselCH‐4002Switzerland
- NCCR‐Molecular Systems EngineeringBPR 1095, Mattenstrasse 24aBaselCH‐4058Switzerland
| | - Lukas Heuberger
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of BaselMattenstrasse 22BaselCH‐4002Switzerland
| | - Anamarija Nikoletić
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of BaselMattenstrasse 22BaselCH‐4002Switzerland
- Swiss Nanoscience InstituteUniversity of BaselKlingelbergstrasse 82BaselCH‐4056Switzerland
| | | | - Cornelia G. Palivan
- Department of ChemistryUniversity of BaselMattenstrasse 22BaselCH‐4002Switzerland
- NCCR‐Molecular Systems EngineeringBPR 1095, Mattenstrasse 24aBaselCH‐4058Switzerland
- Swiss Nanoscience InstituteUniversity of BaselKlingelbergstrasse 82BaselCH‐4056Switzerland
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Li W, Zhang S, Kleuskens S, Portale G, Engelkamp H, Christianen PCM, Wilson DA. Programmable Compartment Networks by Unraveling the Stress-Dependent Deformation of Polymer Vesicles. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024; 20:e2306219. [PMID: 37803926 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202306219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023]
Abstract
Nanocontainers that can sense and respond to environmental stimuli like cells are desirable for next-generation delivery systems. However, it is still a grand challenge for synthetic nanocontainers to mimic or even surpass the shape adaption of cells, which may produce novel compartments for cargo loading. Here, this work reports the engineering of compartment network with a single polymer vesicle by unraveling osmotic stress-dependent deformation. Specifically, by manipulating the way in exerting the stress, sudden increase or gradual increase, polymer vesicles can either undergo deflation into the stomatocyte, a bowl-shaped vesicle enclosing a new compartment, or tubulation into the tubule of varied length. Such stress-dependent deformation inspired us to program the shape transformation of polymer vesicles, including tubulation, deflation, or first tubulation and then deflation. The coupled deformation successfully transforms the polymer vesicle into the stomatocyte with tubular arms and a network of two or three small stomatocytes connected by tubules. To the author's knowledge, these morphologies are still not accessed by synthetic nanocontainers. This work envisions that the network of stomatocytes may enable the loading of different catalysts to construct novel motile systems, and the well-defined morphology of vesicles helps to define the effect of morphology on cellar uptake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Li
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Shaohua Zhang
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
| | - Sandra Kleuskens
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
- High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML-EMFL), Radboud University, Toernooiveld 7, Nijmegen, 6525ED, The Netherlands
| | - Giuseppe Portale
- Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen, Nijenborgh 4, Groningen, 9747AG, The Netherlands
| | - Hans Engelkamp
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
- High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML-EMFL), Radboud University, Toernooiveld 7, Nijmegen, 6525ED, The Netherlands
| | - Peter C M Christianen
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
- High Field Magnet Laboratory (HFML-EMFL), Radboud University, Toernooiveld 7, Nijmegen, 6525ED, The Netherlands
| | - Daniela A Wilson
- Institute for Molecules and Materials, Radboud University, Heyendaalseweg 135, Nijmegen, 6525AJ, The Netherlands
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Wei D, Sun Y, Zhu H, Fu Q. Stimuli-Responsive Polymer-Based Nanosystems for Cancer Theranostics. ACS NANO 2023; 17:23223-23261. [PMID: 38041800 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.3c06019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
Stimuli-responsive polymers can respond to internal stimuli, such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione (GSH), and pH, biological stimuli, such as enzymes, and external stimuli, such as lasers and ultrasound, etc., by changing their hydrophobicity/hydrophilicity, degradability, ionizability, etc., and thus have been widely used in biomedical applications. Due to the characteristics of the tumor microenvironment (TME), stimuli-responsive polymers that cater specifically to the TME have been extensively used to prepare smart nanovehicles for the targeted delivery of therapeutic and diagnostic agents to tumor tissues. Compared to conventional drug delivery nanosystems, TME-responsive nanosystems have many advantages, such as high sensitivity, broad applicability among different tumors, functional versatility, and improved biosafety. In recent years, a great deal of research has been devoted to engineering efficient stimuli-responsive polymeric nanosystems, and significant improvement has been made to both cancer diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we summarize some recent research advances involving the use of stimuli-responsive polymer nanocarriers in drug delivery, tumor imaging, therapy, and theranostics. Various chemical stimuli will be described in the context of stimuli-responsive nanosystems. Accordingly, the functional chemical groups responsible for the responsiveness and the strategies to incorporate these groups into the polymer will be discussed in detail. With the research on this topic expending at a fast pace, some innovative concepts, such as sequential and cascade drug release, NIR-II imaging, and multifunctional formulations, have emerged as popular strategies for enhanced performance, which will also be included here with up-to-date illustrations. We hope that this review will offer valuable insights for the selection and optimization of stimuli-responsive polymers to help accelerate their future applications in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dengshuai Wei
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266021, China
| | - Yong Sun
- Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266021, China
| | - Hu Zhu
- Maoming People's Hospital, Guangdong 525000, China
| | - Qinrui Fu
- Institute for Translational Medicine, College of Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266021, China
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7
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Ivanov T, Cao S, Bohra N, de Souza Melchiors M, Caire da Silva L, Landfester K. Polymeric Microreactors with pH-Controlled Spatial Localization of Cascade Reactions. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:50755-50764. [PMID: 37903081 PMCID: PMC10636718 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c09196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023]
Abstract
Lipid and polymer vesicles provide versatile means of creating systems that mimic the architecture of cells. However, these constructs cannot mimic the adaptive compartmentalization observed in cells, where the assembly and disassembly of subcompartments are dynamically modulated by environmental cues. Here, we describe a fully polymeric microreactor with a coacervate-in-vesicle architecture that exhibits an adaptive response to pH. The system was fabricated by microfluidic generation of semipermeable biomimetic polymer vesicles within 1 min using oleyl alcohol as the oil phase. The polymersomes allowed for the diffusion of protons and substrates acting as external signals. Using this method, we were able to construct adaptive microreactors containing internal polyelectrolyte-based catalytic organelles capable of sequestering and localizing enzymes and reaction products in a dynamic process driven by an external stimulus. This approach provides a platform for the rapid and efficient construction of robust adaptive microreactors that can be used in catalysis, biosensing, and cell mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tsvetomir Ivanov
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Shoupeng Cao
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Nitin Bohra
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Marina de Souza Melchiors
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Lucas Caire da Silva
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Katharina Landfester
- Department of Physical Chemistry
of Polymers, Max Planck Institute for Polymer
Research, Ackermannweg 10, 55128 Mainz, Germany
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