Anthony J. Kim1, Mark S. Kaucher2, Dalia H. Levine1, Virgil Percec3, and Daniel A. Hammer4. (1) Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, 210 South 33rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (2) Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, 210 South 33rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (3) Chemistry, U. Pennsylvania, 231 South 34th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6323, (4) Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, 240 Skirkanich Hall, 210 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phospholipid vesicles and polymersomes (polymer vesicles) are biocompatible nanocarriers that have an enormous potential for fundamental membrane studies and in vivo imaging, diagnostics, and drug delivery applications. However, phospholipid vesicles and polymersomes each have their own drawbacks that limit their use in a number of biomedical applications. In this presentation, I will first discuss a new class of vesicles, “dendrosomes”, assembled from a library of amphiphilic dendrimers. Second, I will describe novel hybrid vesicular structures assembled from phopholipid/dendrimer/block copolymer blends. These hybrid vesicles have a number of very unique structural properties and their various applications will be discussed. Finally, in vitro study of Doxorubicin encapsulated hybrid vesicles that target different cell lines will be discussed.