Vesicles from peptidic side-chain polymers synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization

Adams, D. J. , Atkins, D., Cooper, A. I., Furzeland, S., Trewin, A. and Young, I. (2008) Vesicles from peptidic side-chain polymers synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. Biomacromolecules, 9(11), pp. 2997-3003. (doi: 10.1021/bm8006693) (PMID:18821797)

Abstract

Block copolymers can adopt a wide range of morphologies in dilute aqueous solution. There is a significant amount of interest in the use of block copolymer vesicles for a number of applications. We show that a series of oligo(valine) and oligo(phenylalanine) peptides coupled to a methacrylic group can be prepared by conventional peptide coupling techniques. These can be successfully polymerized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) giving access to poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(side-chain peptides). Many of these polymers self-assemble to form vesicles using an organic to aqueous solvent exchange. One example with a divaline hydrophobic block gives a mixture of toroids and vesicles. Circular dichroism demonstrates that secondary structuring is observed in the hydrophobic region of the vesicle walls for the valine side-chain containing polymers.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Adams, Dave
• Authors: Adams, D. J., Atkins, D., Cooper, A. I., Furzeland, S., Trewin, A., and Young, I.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Chemistry
• Journal Name: Biomacromolecules
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• ISSN: 1525-7797
• ISSN (Online): 1526-4602
• Published Online: 27 September 2008