Cao S, Wu H, Pijpers IAB, Shao J, Abdelmohsen LKEA, Williams DS, van Hest JCM. Cucurbit-Like Polymersomes with Aggregation-Induced Emission Properties Show Enzyme-Mediated Motility.
ACS Nano 2021;
15:18270-18278. [PMID:
34668368 PMCID:
PMC8613902 DOI:
10.1021/acsnano.1c07343]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Polymersomes that incorporate aggregation-induced emission (AIE) moieties are attractive inherently fluorescent nanoparticles with biomedical application potential for cell/tissue imaging and tracking, as well as phototherapeutics. An intriguing feature that has not been explored yet is their ability to adopt a range of asymmetric morphologies. Structural asymmetry allows nanoparticles to be exploited as active (motile) systems. Here, we present the design and preparation of AIE fluorophore integrated (AIEgenic) cucurbit-shaped polymersome nanomotors with enzyme-powered motility. The cucurbit scaffold was constructed via morphology engineering of biodegradable fluorescent AIE-polymersomes, followed by functionalization with enzymatic machinery via a layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly process. Because of the enzyme-mediated decomposition of chemical fuel on the cucurbit-like nanomotor surface, enhanced directed motion was attained, when compared with the spherical counterparts. These cucurbit-shaped biodegradable AIE-nanomotors provide a promising platform for the development of active delivery systems with potential for biomedical applications.
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