Polymersomes: A New Platform for Drug Targeting

Liposomes were first described in literature more than 30 years ago by Bangham (1). They have since been used widely in many fundamental studies of amphiphilic systems as well as in applications to extend and control the delivery of a broad variety of drugs (Fig. 1A). Thousands of publications, reviews, and monographs (e.g., (2)) now exist on liposomes. A handful of the documents have expressed ideas that emerge as the clearest backdrop for outlining the motivation, formation, properties, and compatibility of novel polymer-based vesicle platforms called “polymersomes” (3) (Fig. 1B).