Multicompartment polymersome gel for encapsulation

We introduce an approach that combines the concepts of emulsion-templating and dewetting for fabricating polymersomes with a large number of compartments. The resultant polymersome gel behaves as a gel-like solid, but is a true vesicle suspended in an aqueous environment. Due to the thin membranes that separate the compartments, the polymersome gels have a high volume fraction of internal phase for encapsulation of hydrophilic actives; they also provide a large surface area of diblock copolymer membrane for encapsulation of lipophilic actives. Multiple actives can also be encapsulated in the gel without cross-contamination. Our technique represents a simple and versatile bulk approach for fabricating polymersome gels; it does not require the use of any specialized equipment or subsequent polymerization steps to solidify the gel. The resultant polymersome gel is promising as an encapsulating structure as well as a scaffold for tissue engineering. © 2011 The Royal Society of Chemistry.