How to Bridge the Gap Between Membrane Biology and Polymer Science

Can polymer chemists contribute to the understanding or even mimicking of cell membrane functions and cell-cell interactions? Fascinated by the specificity and efficiency of, for example, the destruction of tumor cells by lymphocytes (1) and having in mind what biochemical analyses tell us about membrane composition, we may try to “synthesize” membrane and cell models. The commonly used model systems, such as planar lipid monolayers at the gas-water interface, bimolecular lipid membranes and spherical liposomes, are much less stable than natural membrane systems (Figure 1).

Drug carriers were prepared by combining oligopeptidic sequences with synthetic polymeric chains. Soluble copolymers of N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) were synthesized containing oligopeptidic side chains terminating in a drug model (p-nitroaniline). The susceptibility of these oligopeptidic sequences to degradation on incubation with lysosomal enzymes and human serum was evaluated by monitoring the p-nitroaniline liberation. It was shown that the drug model can be attached to the polymer carrier by means of an oligopeptidic spacer stable in blood serum and degradable after the polymer has been in contact with intracellular lysosomal enzymes. The studied polymer carriers were used…

Different polymeric transport systems for biologically active substances are presented. In the past, most of the reviews on polymeric drugs dealt with pharmaca, fixed to conventional water-soluble polymers. Naturally occuring transport proteins with their complex features have recently been imitated by micellar solubilized polymers. Polymerized liposomes from polymerizable lipids can be regarded as vesicular solubilized polymers and are discussed as stable models for biomembranes. By insertion of glycolipids, these liposomes are rendered susceptible to specific recognition by proteins. When natural or cleavable synthetic lipids are incorporated into polymerizable membranes, phase-separation…