In addition, the structure of the voids in conventional polyHIPEs are usually spherical; the low packing density of spherical droplets can limit the volume fraction of the polyHIPEs. Polymersomes with compartments separated by thin walls of copolymers

Abtract We introduce an approach that combines the concepts of emulsion-templating and dewetting for fabricating polymersomes with a large number of compartments. The resultant polymersome gel behaves as a gel-like solid, but is a true vesicle suspended in an aqueous environment. Due to the thin membranes that separate the compartments, the polymersome gels have a high volume fraction of internal phase for encapsulation of hydrophilic actives; they also provide large surface area of diblock copolymer membrane for encapsulation of lipophilic actives. Multiple actives can also be encapsulated in the gel without crosscontamination. Our technique represents a simple and versatile bulk approach for fabricating polymersome gels; it does not require the use of any specialized equipment or subsequent polymerization steps to solidify the gel. The resultant polymersome gel is promising as an encapsulating structure as well as scaffold for tissue engineering.