TUNING COMMUNICATION IN SYNTHETIC VESICLES USING ENVIRONMENTALLY-RESPONSIVE POLYMERS TOWARDS THE NEXT GENERATION OF CATALYTIC COMPARTMENTS AND CELL MODELS

Abstract

Polymer vesicles are a class of supramolecular structures that enclose an aqueous lumen surrounded by a polymeric membrane providing a physical barrier that separates the inner and outer environments. In these self-organized systems, the permeability behavior is highly relevant in determining the potential applications. Nevertheless, due to the high molecular weight constituents, the effective flow of materials is frequently restricted. This is usually bypassed by the incorporation of membrane proteins and DNA nanopores in the polymeric walls to impart permeability, although being a fairly complex and costly multistep process. Accordingly, the manufacturing of inherently permeable, semipermeable, and stimuli-responsive permeable polymeric membranes constitutes an outstanding advantage in this regard. However, this has been much less explored. This proposal therefore relies on the use of stimuli thermo- and pH-responsive polymers to construct polymer vesicles (nano- and microcompartments) allowing the tuning of membrane permeability, thus accomplishing on-demand regulation of chemical flows. We will build supramolecular assemblies using environmentally-responsive constructs, and the permeability to small molecules will be probed in disparate environmental conditions. These ideas are embraced on the ongoing thematic FAPESP project (2021/12071-6) and in the FAPESP-CNRS Sprint project (2023/00558-3) therefore, fully linked to the investigations currently sponsored by the grant agency. During the one-year fellowship, we will particularly focused on state-of-the-art structural characterization of the polymeric membranes and further correlate the findings with permeability features. The experimental activities will be mainly based on small angle x-ray scattering measurements to be conducted in the SWING beamline of the SOLEIL synchrotron radiation facility, and on refined electron microscopy measurements. This project is supposed to create a breakthrough in the framework of synthetic cells and capsules for biotransformation as we propose an investigation of key aspects on polymeric membranes (composition, thickness, responsiveness) that will allow regulation of mass exchange by tuning the membrane permeability without adding complex modifications.