Light-Triggered Unique Shape Transformation of Giant Polymersomes with Tubular Protrusions

Kaixuan Ren; Matthew C Blosser; Noah Malmstadt

doi:10.1002/marc.202100474

Light-Triggered Unique Shape Transformation of Giant Polymersomes with Tubular Protrusions

Macromol Rapid Commun. 2021 Nov;42(22):e2100474. doi: 10.1002/marc.202100474. Epub 2021 Oct 13.

Authors

Kaixuan Ren^{1

2}, Matthew C Blosser², Noah Malmstadt^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Polymer Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, P. R. China.
² Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1211, USA.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, 840 Downey Way, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-0744, USA.
⁴ Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, 3650 McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-1111, USA.

PMID: 34553805
DOI: 10.1002/marc.202100474

Abstract

Light-triggered unique shape transformation of calcein-loaded giant polymersomes with tubular protrusions, which serve as a reservoir membrane area during the shape transformation, is reported here. Under irradiation at the excitation wavelength of calcein, the tubular protrusions form strings of budded vesicles and then reintegrate into the mother vesicle. The initial giant polymersomes transform to two connected spherical vesicles via two pathways to alleviate the osmotic pressure imbalance across the vesicle membrane. The two connected spherical vesicles further transform to a mother vesicle with an inner daughter vesicle after switching off the light to relieve the bending energy. The finding provides a promising platform to mimic cell morphology changes.

Keywords: light-responsiveness; polymersomes; self-assembly; shape transformations; vesicles.

Grants and funding

N00014-16-1-2382/the Office of Naval Research