Hydrogen-bonding mediated self-assembly of amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymers into well defined giant vesicles

Wang, H., et. al. J. Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12, 6300-6306, https://doi.org/10.1039/D1PY01061A

Giant vesicles represent an extremely useful system to mimick biomembranes. By designing a hydrogen-bonding (H-bonding) amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymer and introducing 2,6-diaminopyridine (DAP) moieties as pendant groups within the middle hydrophobic block, we demonstrate a straightforward and effective self-assembly strategy to form giant vesicles (~3 μm in diameter) via a combination of H-bonding and amphiphilic interactions. This study provides a new opportunity for the design of supramolecular polymers, serving as polymeric vesicle scaffolds in material design and may act as red-blood-cell-like container in delivery and microreactor applications. Published with a permission of the Polymer Chemistry 2021.