Cholesterol-end-modified–PEG vesicle: DDS carrier with long-term stability to encapsulate a drug model by facile preparation

Abstract Vesicles such as liposomes are widely used as drug delivery system (DDS) carriers. On the other hand, they are complicated to prepare and have stability issues. In this study, we synthesized an amphiphile, Chol-U-Et-mPEG500, containing cholesterol and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) as a hydrophobic and hydrophilic block, respectively. Chol-U-Et-mPEG500 spontaneously formed a vesicle with a uniform particle size of about 90 nm just by dissolving its compound in water. The vesicle encapsulated sulforhodamine B as a drug model only by mixing with its solution.