Capable Cross-links: Polymersomes Reinforced with Catalytically Active Metal-Ligand Bonds

Polymersomes, hollow spherical nano-to-microscale polymer assemblies, have increasingly become important constructs in the development of biomimetic materials that expand the library of functional and robust analogs to lipid-based vesicles. As compared to liposomes, polymersomes possess superior physical properties and the nearly unlimited potential for synthetic fine-tuning. Herein we improve on the physical properties of these polymer vesicles by introducing platinum-based metal-ligand cross-links into the hydrophobic core, which gave the vesicles demonstrated resistance to destabilization by surfactants over un-cross-linked polymersomes. The formation of cross-links was capable of being selectively reversed by the addition of phosphines. In addition, the Pt(0) cross-links retained their catalytic activity for the hydrosilylation of alkenes.