Development of Polymersomes as Macromolecular Platforms for Nanomedicine

Year : 2026 | Volume : 14 | Issue : 05 | Page : 71 89
By

Ashok Singh Yadav,

Seema Verma,

Sahil Mehta,

Santosh Singh Yadav,

Trivender Kumar,

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Satish Chandra College, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India
  2. Professor, Department of Zoology, Satish Chandra College, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India
  3. Assistant Professor, Department of Botany, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, New Delhi, India
  4. Assistant professor, Department of Botany, Asha P.G. College, Sikhari Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, India
  5. Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Satish Chandra College, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, India

Abstract

The conventional method of drug delivery is plagued with instability, low targeting and low bioavailability. A solution to these shortcomings is the use of polymersomes, artificial vesicles that are produced through self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymer, and they are suggested as universal nanoscale carriers. They have stiff, tunable membranes (thickness = 2–50 nm) due to accurate control of polymer chemistry, chain length, and hydrophilic mass fraction (f), which allows predictability of the drug loading and programmable release kinetics. Stimuli-responsive Polymersomes. Polymersomes can be designed to be responsive to stimuli (pH, redox/ROS, temperature/LCST) and disease-specific (disease-signal) delivery by modulating block composition (e.g., PEG-b-PCL/PLA, PMOXA-b-PDMS), glass transition (Tg), and critical packing parameter. PEGylation of surfaces or zwitterionic coronas decreases opsonisation and increases circulation, whereas click-chemistry (azide-alkyne, thiol-maleimide) and EDC/NHS-based coupling allow site-specific functionalization with antibodies, peptides, sugars, vitamins or small molecules to result in receptor-mediated targeting and further endosomal escape. The use of degradable polyesters (PLA, PLGA, PCL) or ROS-cleavable blocks (PPS) gives controllable biodegradation and good pharmacokinetics. In contrast, RAFT/ATRP synthesis pathways give low-dispersity (Đ) materials that can be scaled up by microfluidics, dual asymmetric centrifugation, or tangential-flow processing. Polymersomes mimic cellular membranes: they can be loaded with hydrophilic, hydrophobic and macromolecular cargos (proteins, peptides, nucleic acids) and reduce off-target toxicity by the rigidity of the membrane and steric stabilisation. This regulated discharge profile and biomimetic architecture locate polymersomes as second-generation macromolecular platforms in nanomedicine, having the potential to repair and regenerate tissues in systemic environments. Their formation, structure-property-function, and workflow relationships, highly developed surface chemistry, and scalable production make them an important emerging part of developing highly efficient, targeted drug-delivery systems.

Keywords: Polymersomes, block copolymers, nanocarriers, targeted drug delivery, surface functionalization, stimuli-responsive release.

[This article belongs to Journal of Polymer & Composites ]

How to cite this article: Ashok Singh Yadav, Seema Verma, Sahil Mehta, Santosh Singh Yadav, Trivender Kumar. Development of Polymersomes as Macromolecular Platforms for Nanomedicine. Journal of Polymer & Composites. 2026; 14(05):71-89.
How to cite this URL: Ashok Singh Yadav, Seema Verma, Sahil Mehta, Santosh Singh Yadav, Trivender Kumar. Development of Polymersomes as Macromolecular Platforms for Nanomedicine. Journal of Polymer & Composites. 2026; 14(05):71-89. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/jopc/article=2026/view=252039

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Regular Issue Subscription Review Article
Volume 14
Issue 05
Received 05/02/2026
Accepted 16/06/2026
Published 10/08/2026
Publication Time 186 Days

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