Fig. 2: Morphological characterization of polymersomes with asymmetric structure (PTM-AIEsomes).
From: Designing polymersomes with surface-integrated nanoparticles through hierarchical phase separation
a Schematic representation of the fabrication process of PTM-AIEsomes through the co-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers (PEG44-P(AIE)8) and photothermal molecules (PTM) in the presence of THF and water, followed by dialysis against Milli-Q water. b Evaluation of the fluorescence properties of PTM-AIEsomes by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) with excitation/emission wavelengths of 405 nm/550–650 nm. Scale bar = 20 μm. c Morphological characterization of PTM-AIEsomes using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Scale bar = 100 nm. d Cryo-TEM image of PTM-AIEsomes (left) and zoomed-in view of an individual PTM-AIEsome (right). Scale bar = 200 nm and 50 nm, respectively. e Schematic illustration of cryo-ET. f 3D structure analysis of a PTM-AIEsome measured by cryo-ET. (i) Cross-sectional view of a PTM-AIEsome. (ii) Magnified view of the dashed region in (i). (iii) Five-pixel averaged plot profile taken from the dashed line in (ii), showing the bilayer membrane encapsulating the PTM nanoparticle. Scale bar = 200 nm. An additional cryo-ET analysis of PTM-AIEsomes is provided in Fig. S12 of Supplementary Information.
