Polymer Particles by Templating of Vesicles

Template-directed synthesis is an elegant approach to defined nanostructured materials. Vesicles or liposomes have already been used in the synthesis of small inorganic particles, but their use as a template for polymer synthesis is rare. Despite this, direct templating of vesicles offers interesting new possibilities for the formation of defined nanostructured polymers. While the polymer morphology is determined by the size and shape of the templates, the polymer framework can be modified by conventional chemical reactions. The authors envisage applications in separation processes or drug delivery.