'Russian doll' polymer vesicles mimic cell structure
Nanomedicine faces two main challenges: controlling the synthesis of extremely small vectors containing one or several active ingredients and releasing these agents in the right place at the right time, in controlled forms and doses. Researchers from the Organic Polymer Chemistry Laboratory (Institut Polytechnique de Bordeaux, France) have recently encapsulated nanovesicles within slightly larger vesicles. This Russian doll structure mimics the organization of cell compartments. Reproducing it is a first major step towards triggering controlled reactions within the structure of the cell. This work is already opening up new possibilities in terms of multiple encapsulation, compartmentalized reactors and the administration of vectors via new delivery routes (e.g. oral absorption). These results are published on 27 January 2012, in Angewandte Chemie International Edition.