Issue 1, 2009
From the journal:

Nanoscale

Polymer hydrogel capsules: en route toward synthetic cellular systems

Brigitte Städler,a   Andrew D. Price,a   Rona Chandrawati,a   Leticia Hosta-Rigau,abc   Alexander N. Zelikina  and  Frank Caruso*a  

* Corresponding authors

a Centre for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
E-mail: fcaruso@unimelb.edu.au
Fax: +61 3 8344 4153
Tel: +61 3 8344 3461

b Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Barcelona Science Park, Barcelona 08028, Spain

c Department of Organic Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Barcelona 08028, Spain

Abstract

Engineered synthetic cellular systems are expected to become a powerful biomedical platform for the development of next-generation therapeutic carrier vehicles. In this mini-review, we discuss the potential of polymer capsules derived by the layer-by-layer assembly as a platform system for the construction of artificial cells and organelles. We outline the characteristics of polymer capsules that make them unique for these applications, and we describe several successful examples of microencapsulated catalysis, including biologically relevant enzymatic reactions. We also provide examples of subcompartmentalized polymer capsules, which represent a major step toward the creation of synthetic cells.

Graphical abstract: Polymer hydrogel capsules: en route toward synthetic cellular systems

About
Cited by
Related
Download options Please wait...

Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/B9NR00143C
Article type
Minireview
Submitted
19 Jun 2009
Accepted
14 Aug 2009
First published
28 Aug 2009

Nanoscale, 2009,1, 68-73

Permissions

Request permissions

Polymer hydrogel capsules: en route toward synthetic cellular systems

B. Städler, A. D. Price, R. Chandrawati, L. Hosta-Rigau, A. N. Zelikin and F. Caruso, Nanoscale, 2009, 1, 68 DOI: 10.1039/B9NR00143C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements