Ruiz-Pérez, L;
Hurley, C;
Tomás, S;
Battaglia, G;
(2018)
Separating Extreme pH Gradients Using Amphiphilic Copolymer Membranes.
ChemPhysChem
, 19
(16)
pp. 1987-1989.
10.1002/cphc.201800187.
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Abstract
Polymeric vesicles, also called polymersomes, are highly efficient biomimetic systems. They can generate compartmentalized volumes at the nanoscale supported by synthetic amphiphilic membranes that closely mimic their biological counterparts. Membrane permeability and the ability to separate extreme pH gradients is a crucial condition a successful biomimetic system must meet. We show polymersomes formed by non-ionic polybutadiene-b-polyethylene oxide (PBd-b-PEO) amphiphilic block copolymers engineer robust and stable membranes that are able able to sustain pH gradients of 10 for a minimum of 8 days. Cells endo-lysomal compartments separate gradients between 3 and 1, while we generated a pH gradient of three folds as great. This feature clearly is of great importance for applications as nanoreactors and drug delivery systems where separating different aqueous volumes at nanoscale level is an essential requirement.
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