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Polymer nanoarchitectonics for synthetic vesicles with human erythrocyte-like morphology transformation

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Abstract

This paper describes that synthetic polymer vesicles undergo a human erythrocyte-like morphology transformation in response to temperature changes. The normally biconcave discoid erythrocytes, i.e., the discocytes, are transformed into various shapes by their environmental stresses. Poly(methacrylic acid)-block-poly(n-butyl methacrylate-random-methacrylic acid), PMAA-b-P(BMA-r-MAA), produced spherocyte-like spherical vesicles with a dimple by the photopolymerization-induced self-assembly in a 70% aqueous methanol solution. The dimpled vesicles transformed into echinocyte-like crenate vesicles when heated in the solution with a vesicle concentration of 5.68 g/L. Field emission scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that the crenation was based on expansion by the component copolymers in being freed from the vesicle surface. An increase in the vesicle concentration to 9.94 g/L transformed the spherical vesicles into stomatocyte-like cup-shaped vesicles. The transformation involved two mechanisms; one is the principal pathway of a single membrane invagination followed by perforation at the dimple, and the other is a pathway of simultaneous double invaginations followed by membrane coupling and fusion. Light scattering studies revealed that the transformations were reversible and repeatable. Furthermore, a decrease in the methanol content to 60% in the solution increased the number of discocyte-like and knizocyte-like vesicles among the stomatocyte-like vesicles. A further decrease in the content to 50% produced a slight number of stomato II-acanthocyte-like and torocyte-like vesicles. A still lower content below 40% prevented the vesicles from transforming even at 50 °C. These findings indicate that the synthetic polymer vesicles are helpful for a better understanding of the intrinsic properties of the erythrocyte membrane on a molecular basis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the JSPS Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Grant Number 18K04863).

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  1. Department of Applied Chemistry and Life Science, Toyohashi University of Technology, 1-1 Hibarigaoka, Tempaku-cho, Toyohashi, Aichi, 441-8580, Japan

    Eri Yoshida

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Yoshida, E. Polymer nanoarchitectonics for synthetic vesicles with human erythrocyte-like morphology transformation. Colloid Polym Sci 300, 497–508 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-022-04958-2

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