Synthesis of vesicles on polymer template

Reactive single-tail cationic surfactants self-assemble on the anionic block copolymer templates. These systems spontaneously arrange in small vesicles of nanoscale size. The vesicles are further stabilized by dimerization of the assembled surfactant monomers forming double-tail surfactants bound to the block copolymer. The resulting systems are resistant to changes in environmental characteristics such as pH, ionic strength, and temperature variations. Hydrophilic macromolecules can be encapsulated in the internal aqueous volume of these vesicles. The simplicity of the preparation makes these systems promising as drug and gene delivery carriers. Copyright © 2002 American Chemical Society.