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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2020 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Drug Discov Today. 2018 Aug 16;24(2):462–491. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2018.08.009

FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 4

Polymersome is emerging as a promising candidate for drug delivery posses outperforming features than liposome. A liposome is a well-established drug delivery vesicle which consists of an aqueous core surrounded by natural bilipid membrane. The core is suitable for hydrophilic drugs while the bilipid layer is suitable for lipophilic drugs. Even there are many marketed liposome preparations; it has some limiting features such as physical and chemical stability. polymer stealth agents such as PEG are used to enhance liposome stability in the biological environment. Polymersome is a synthetic vesicle consist of an aqueous core surrounded by amphiphilic block copolymer membrane. The membrane is hydrophilic from inside and outside aspects while it is hydrophobic in the middle part. core and the two sides of the membrane are suitable for hydrophilic drugs while the middle of the membrane is suitable for hydrophobic drugs. Polymersome overcame a lot of liposomal limitations such as physical and chemical stability, stability in the biological environment. The images are adapted with permission [109].