POLYMERIZATION OF MONOMERIC TO POLYMERIC VESICLES. CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATIONS

Abstract The first reports on the polymerization of monomeric vesicles to their polymerized counterparts [1–18] appeared in the literature in the early 1980s. The primary goal of this early work was to stabilize the relatively unstable monomeric vesicles in order to stimulate the function of biological membranes. Triggered by these at-tempts and the prospects for utilization of polymerized vesicles as energy conversion systems [19–23], as drug-carriers [24–26] in medicine, and as media for the performance of biomimetic reactions [27], the subject of formation and characterization of polymerized vesicles has matured significantly in the last 10 years. In the early stages of research following the molecular requirements that had been set for the synthesis of vesicle-forming surfactants, a great number of polymerizable amphiphiles were prepared. However, these first primarily synthetic investigations were followed by more elaborate studies on the kinetics and mechanisms of polymerization coupled with compara...