Biocompatible or biodegradable hyperbranched polymers: from self-assembly to cytomimetic applications

Self-assembly of amphiphilic hyperbranched polymers (HBPs) is a newly emerging research area and has attracted increasing attention due to the great advantages in biomedical applications. This tutorial review focuses on the self-assembly of biocompatible or biodegradable amphiphilic HBPs and their cytomimetic applications, and specialities or advantages therein owing to the hyperbranched structure have also been summarized. As shown here, various supramolecular structures including micelles, vesicles, tubes, fibers and films have been prepared through the primary self-assembly processes. The primary self-assemblies can be further assembled into more complex structures through hierachical self-assembly processes. Besides, the hyperbranched polymer vesicles have demonstrated great potential to be used as model membranes to mimic cellular behaviors, such as fusion, fission and cell aggregation. Other biomedical applications of HBPs as well as their self-assemblies are also briefly summarized.