title: Stimuli-Responsive Polymersomes for Biomedical Applications.
abstract: Polymersomes, the structural analogues of liposomes, are hollow structures enclosed by a bilayer membrane made from amphiphilic copolymers. Polymersomes have been proposed to mimic the structure and properties of cellular membranes and viral capsids. Excellent robustness and stability, chemical versatility for tunable membrane properties and surface functionalization make polymersomes attractive candidates for drug delivery, diagnostic imaging, nanoreactor vessels, and artificial organelles. In further biomimetic strategies, stimuli-responsive polymersomes that can recognize various external physical or internal biological environmental stimuli and conduct "on demand" release in dose-, spatial-, and temporal-controlled fashions have been widely developed. This Perspective focuses on recent advances in stimuli-responsive polymersomes and their potential biomedical applications. Representative examples of each stimulus, the advantages and limitations of different strategies, and the future opportunities and challenges are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.|State Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Jilin 130022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiuli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.
authors.forename: Yuqi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Jilin 130022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2974-1825
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Physics, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Jilin 130022, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiabin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Jing
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.|Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bellotti
authors.affiliation: Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University , Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, United States.|Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and Division of Molecular Pharmaceutics, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.|Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-2947-4456
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Gu
mesh_terms: D040761:Biomimetic Materials / Q000737:chemistry*; D003952:Diagnostic Imaging; D004337:Drug Carriers / Q000737:chemistry; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D011108:Polymers; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species