For the last decades, amphiphilic block copolymers have been at the focus of extensive scientific interest, due to their unique properties and numerous potential applications. Their technological potential evolves from their ability to self-assemble into a plethora of morphologically diverse nanostructures such as micelles, polymersomes, cylinders and others. In this chapter, we discuss the bas...

Biological systems exploit self-assembly to create complex structures whose arrangements are finely controlled from the molecular to mesoscopic level. We report an example of using fully synthetic systems that mimic two levels of self-assembly. We show the formation of vesicles using amphiphilic copolymers whose chemical nature is chosen to control both membrane formation and membrane-confined ...

Thermoresponsive polymers are a class of “smart” materials that have the ability to respond to a change in temperature; a property that makes them useful materials in a wide range of applications and consequently attracts much scientific interest. This review focuses mainly on the studies published over the last 10 years on the synthesis and use of thermoresponsive polymers for biomedical appli...

Amphiphilic ABA triblock copolymers, such as poly(2-methyloxazoline)-block-poly(dimethylsiloxan)-block-poly(2-methyloxazoline) (PMOXA-PDMS-PMOXA), form vesicular structures. Here, the interaction of these ABA molecules with lipids is investigated by electron microscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, light scattering, and differential scanning calorimetry. Our observations suggest the formation of ...

Constructing a cell mimic is a major challenge posed by synthetic biologists. Efforts to this end have been primarily focused on lipid- and polymer-encapsulated containers, liposomes and polymersomes, respectively. Here, we introduce a multi-compartment, nested system comprising aqueous droplets stabilized in an oil/lipid mixture, all encapsulated in hydrogel. Functional capabilities (electrica...

Front Cover: This special issue is dedicated to commemorate Wolfgang P. Meier, who had significant contributions in the fields of amphiphilic copolymer syntheses and their hierarchical self-assembly, block vesicles (so-called polymersomes), hybrid membranes. The self-assembly molecules generating nano- or micro-assemblies (membranes, micelles, vesicles, nanoparticles) that can be combined with ...