Hierarchical assembly of foldable polymers and applications in organic optoelectronics and antibacterial or antiviral materials.

Aggregation of amphiphilic polymers in block-selective solvents produces different nanostructures, which have been studied extensively for wide-ranging applications. Nevertheless, such immiscibility-driven aggregation does not endow them with the desired structural precision, predictability or surface functional group exposure, which significantly impact their functional applications. More recently, biomimetic folded structures of synthetic macromolecules (mostly oligomers) have come to the fore, but such studies have been limited to probe the secondary structures. In this article, we have collated hierarchical structures of foldamers, especially highlighting our recent contribution to the field of chain-folding regulated assembly of segmented polyurethanes (PUs) and their functional applications. A series of such PUs have been discussed, which contain a segmented hydrocarbon backbone and alternately placed pendant solvophilic groups. In either water or highly non-polar solvents (TCE, MCH), depending on the nature of the pendant group, they exhibit folded structures stabilized by intra-chain H-bonding. Hierarchical assembly of such folded chains by inter-chain H-bonding and/or π-stacking leads to the formation of well-defined nanostructures with functional applications ranging from organic optoelectronics to biomaterials. For example, a segmented PU with appended naphthalene-diimide (NDI) chromophores showed a pleated structure in MCH, which helped in organization of the NDI chromophores within π-stacking distance. Such folded polymer chains eventually produced nanotubular structures with excellent electron mobility. They also showed efficient intercalation of the pyrene (Py) donor by NDI-Py charge-transfer interaction and in this case the mixed nanotubular structure exhibited prominent room-temperature ferroelectricity. On the other hand, having cationic functionalities as the pendant groups such chain-folding regulated assembly produced unilamellar polymersomes with excellent antibacterial activity with very low minimum inhibitory concentrations (<10 µg mL-1). Replacing the pendant amine functionality with sulphate groups made these polyurethanes highly potent antiviral materials. In the absence of the alternating connectivity of the solvophobic and solvophilic segments or rigid hydrocarbon backbone, such folding propensity is destroyed, leading to structural collapse. While significant efforts have been made in correlating primary structures of wide-ranging polymers with their functional applications, this article demonstrates the direct correlation between the secondary structures of polymers and their functional properties.

Cisplatin-Conjugated Polyurethane Capsule for Dual Drug Delivery to a Cancer Cell.

This paper describes the synthesis of a polymer-prodrug conjugate, its aqueous self-assembly, noncovalent encapsulation of a second drug, and stimuli-responsive intracellular dual drug delivery. Condensation polymerization between a functionalized diol and a commercially available diisocyanate in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) hydroxide (PEG-OH) as the chain stopper produces an ABA-type amphiphilic block copolymer (PU-1) in one pot, with the middle hydrophobic block being a polyurethane containing a pendant tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc)-protected amine in every repeating unit. Deprotection of the Boc group, followed by covalent attachment of the Pt(IV) prodrug using the pendant amine groups, produces the polymer-prodrug conjugate PU-Pt-1, which aggregates to nanocapsule-like structures in water with a hydrophilic interior. In the presence of sodium ascorbate, the Pt(IV) prodrug can be detached from the polymer backbone, producing the active Pt(II) drug. Cell culture studies show appreciable cell viability by the parent polymer. However, the polymer-prodrug conjugate nanocapsules exhibit cellular uptake and intracellular release of the active drug under a reducing environment. The capsule-like aggregates of the polymer-prodrug conjugate were used for noncovalent encapsulation of a second drug, doxorubicin (Dox), and Dox-loaded PU-Pt-1 aggregate showed a significantly superior cell killing efficiency compared to either of the individual drugs, highlighting the promising application of such a dual-drug-delivery approach.

Direct Correlation between the Secondary Structure of an Amphiphilic Polymer and Its Prominent Antiviral Activity.

An amphiphilic segmented polyurethane (F-PU-S), with pendant sulfate groups and a flexible hydrocarbon backbone, exhibits intrachain H-bonding-reinforced folding and hierarchical assembly, producing an anionic polymersome with efficient display of sulfate groups at the surface. It shows an excellent antiviral activity against Sendai virus (SV) by inhibiting its entry to the cells. Mechanistic investigation suggests fusion of the SV and the polymersome to produce larger particles in which neither the folded structure of the polymer nor the fusogenic property of the SV exists anymore. In sharp contrast, a structurally similar polymer R-PU-S, in which the chain folding pathway is blocked by replacing the flexible C6 chain with a rigid cyclohexane chain in the backbone, cannot form a similar polymersome structure and hence does not exhibit any antiviral activity. On the other hand, the third polymer (F-PU-C), which is similar to F-PU-S except for the pendant anionic groups (carboxylate instead of sulfate), also fails to exhibit any antiviral activity against SV, confirming the essential role of the chain folding as well as the pendant sulfate groups for the fusion-induced antiviral activity of F-PU-S, which provides an important structural guideline for developing new antiviral polymers.

Control over Multiple Nano- and Secondary Structures in Peptide Self-Assembly.

Herein, we report the rich morphological and conformational versatility of a biologically active peptide (PEP-1), which follows diverse self-assembly pathways to form up to six distinct nanostructures and up to four different secondary structures through subtle modulation in pH, concentration and temperature. PEP-1 forms twisted ß-sheet secondary structures and nanofibers at pH 7.4, which transform into fractal-like structures with strong ß-sheet conformations at pH 13.0 or short disorganized elliptical aggregates at pH 5.5. Upon dilution at pH 7.4, the nanofibers with twisted ß-sheet secondary structural elements convert into nanoparticles with random coil conformations. Interestingly, these two self-assembled states at pH 7.4 and room temperature are kinetically controlled and undergo a further transformation into thermodynamically stable states upon thermal annealing: whereas the twisted ß-sheet structures and corresponding nanofibers transform into 2D sheets with well-defined ß-sheet domains, the nanoparticles with random coil structures convert into short nanorods with α-helix conformations. Notably, PEP-1 also showed high biocompatibility, low hemolytic activity and marked antibacterial activity, rendering our system a promising candidate for multiple bio-applications.

Tunable nanostructures by directional assembly of donor-acceptor supramolecular copolymers and antibacterial activity.

This manuscript reports supramolecular copolymerization of amphiphilic donor (D) and acceptor (A) units and their antibacterial activity. The donor unit (Py-1) contains a pyrene chromophore attached to a quaternary ammonium group by an amide linker. In the acceptor unit (NDI-1), a naphthalene-diimide (NDI) chromophore is attached to a hydrophilic non-ionic wedge and a benzamide group on its two opposite arms. In aqueous medium, Py-1 and NDI-1 produce micelle like nanoparticles and a fibrillar gel, respectively. Contrastingly, their 1 : 1 mixture shows polymersome like assembly in which the membrane is constituted of alternating D-A stacking stabilized by charge-transfer (CT) interactions and H-bonding among the amide groups. H-Bonding further gives unidirectional lateral orientation of the two chromophores and also regulates the direction of curvature so that all the cationic head groups are displayed on the exofacial polymersome surface. Such cationic D-A supramolecular polymersomes exhibit good bactericidal activity selectively against Gram positive bacteria over Gram negative bacteria. The spherical polymersome assembly gradually adopted a tubular morphology without disrupting the alternating D-A stacking mode, but it significantly reduced the antibacterial activity. By changing the D/A ratio, the surface charge density, hydrophobicity and morphology of the supramolecular copolymers could be tuned systemically, which had a strong impact on the antibacterial activity and selectivity. Addition of 5-10 mol% of NDI-1 to Py-1 changed the morphology from nanoparticles to polymersomes with the most optimized combination of cationic charge density and hydrophobicity, which resulted in producing a lethal antibacterial system (MIC value 16 µg mL-1) selectively against Gram positive bacteria. Mechanistic investigation indicated a membrane disruption pathway of cell killing. No combination of Py-1 and NDI-1 exhibited hemolysis activity up to 1000 µg mL-1 confirming their selective action against the bacterial membrane over the mammalian cell membrane.

Self-Assembled Polyurethane Capsules with Selective Antimicrobial Activity against Gram-Negative E. coli.

This article reports the antimicrobial activity of two segmented amphiphilic polyurethanes, PU-1 and PU-2, containing a primary or secondary amine group, respectively. In acidic water, intrachain H-bonding among the urethanes followed by hierarchical assembly resulted in the formation of capsules (Dh = 120 ± 20 and 100 ± 17 nm for PU-1 and PU-2, respectively) with a highly positive surface charge. They showed selective interactions with bacterial cell mimicking liposomes over mammalian cell mimicking liposomes with favorable enthalpy and entropy contributions, which was attributed to the electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic effect. Antimicrobial studies with Escherichia coli revealed very low minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 7.8 and 15.6 µg/mL for PU-1 and PU-2, respectively, indicating their ability to efficiently kill Gram-negative bacteria. Killing of Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus was noticed only at C = 500 µg/mL, indicating unprecedented selectivity for E. coli, which was further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies. Hemolysis assay revealed HC50 values of 453 and 847 µg/mL for PU-1 and PU-2, respectively, which were >50 times higher than their respective MIC values, thus making them attractive antimicrobial materials. Ortho-nitrophenyl-ß-galactoside (ONPG) assay and live-dead fluorescence assay confirmed that for both the polymers, a membrane disruption pathway was operative for wrapping of the bacterial membrane, similar to what was proposed for antimicrobial peptides. SEM images of polymer-treated E. coli bacteria helped in visualization of the pore formation and the disrupted membrane structure.

Synthesis and Self-assembly of a Helical Polymer Grafted from a Foldable Polyurethane Scaffold.

Herein a polyurethane graft poly-l-glutamate amphiphilic copolymer was synthesized from a polyurethane (PU)-based macro-initiator (containing pendant primary amine groups) through the ring opening polymerization of N-carboxy anhydride of γ-benzyl-l-glutamate (BLG-NCA). On average, twenty two l-glutamic acids were grafted from each amino group which was pendant on the polyurethane chain with 10 repeating units. The grafted polymer (PU-PP-1) exhibits self-assembly to produce a hydrogel in a wide pH window ranging from pH 5.0 to 8.0 with a critical gelation concentration (CGC) of 5.0 wt % (w/v) at pH 7.4. Furthermore, circular dichroism study revealed the transition of the α-helix to a random coil upon increasing the pH. Due to the protonation of side chains at pH 4.0, PU-PP-1 adopted an α-helical conformation whereas at pH >8.0 the side-chain carboxylic acid groups of the PLGAs were ionized, leading to the formation of an extended random coil conformation as a result of charge repulsion. Conformational switching was also supported by FTIR spectroscopy.

Directional Supramolecular Assembly of π-Amphiphiles with Tunable Surface Functionality and Impact on the Antimicrobial Activity.

This article elucidates H-bonding-regulated directional supramolecular assembly of naphthalene diimide (NDI)-derived unsymmetric cationic bola-shaped π-amphiphiles and systematic investigations on the thermodynamics of their interaction with bacteria mimic lipid vesicles and antimicrobial activity with mechanistic insights. Four NDI-amphiphiles (NDI-1, NDI-2, NDI-3, and NDI-2a) have been studied, all of which contain a central NDI chromophore, a nonionic wedge, an amine containing a head group, and a hydrazide group. In NDI-2 and NDI-2a, the hydrophilic wedge and the head group (pyridine) are the same but the location of the hydrazide group is different. On the basis of this difference, the pyridyl groups are displayed at the outer and inner walls of the vesicle, respectively. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) studies revealed the spontaneous interaction of NDI-2 assembly with bacteria membrane mimic DPPE liposome (ΔG = -6.35 kcal/mol), whereas the NDI-2a assembly did not interact at all, confirming a strong influence of the H-bonding-regulated functional group display. On the other hand, the location of the hydrazide group remains the same in NDI-1, NDI-2, and NDI-3, but they differ in the head group structure. ITC binding studies confirmed spontaneous interaction of all three assemblies with DPPE liposome with negative ΔG values following the order NDI-1 > NDI-2 > NDI-3, indicating significant influence of the structure of the head group on the interaction with the model membrane. In fact, in all cases, the interaction was favorable both by enthalpy and entropy contribution, indicating dual involvement of the electrostatic interaction and hydrophobic effect. Notably, ΔS value for NDI-1 containing a tertiary amine head group was found to be significantly higher than that for NDI-3 containing a primary amine, which is attributed to the enhanced hydrophobic effect in the former case. Furthermore, ITC experiments revealed no interaction by any of these assemblies with the mammalian cell membrane mimic liposome, indicating their high selectivity toward bacterial membranes. Antimicrobial activity studies showed NDI-2 to be lethal selectively against Gram-positive bacteria, whereas NDI-2a did not show any activity. NDI-3 with a primary amine showed moderate activity but no selectivity over the erythrocytes. NDI-1 with the tertiary amine group was found to be the most outstanding candidate, exhibiting broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity with very low minimum inhibitory concentration values of 15.8 and 62 µg/mL for Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, respectively, and high selectivity over erythrocytes. These results fully corroborate with the physical insights obtained from the ITC studies on their interaction with the model liposome. Control molecules, lacking either the NDI chromophore or the hydrazide nonionic containing wedge, did not exhibit any notable antibacterial activity. Live-dead assay with fluorescence microscopy studies indicated that the antimicrobial activity of NDI-1 operates through the membrane disruption pathway similar to that of the host defense peptides.

pH-Responsive Biocompatible Supramolecular Peptide Hydrogel.

Peptide-based hydrogels are highly promising for various biomedical applications owing to their precise self-assembly, biocompatibility, and sensitivity toward biologically relevant external stimuli. Herein, we report pH-responsive self-assembly and gelation of a highly biocompatible amphiphilic peptide PEP-1. This is an octa-peptide and double mutant of a naturally occurring ß-strand peptide fragment of the protein Galectin-1, available in bovine spleen. PEP-1 was synthesized by using the Rink amide resin as the solid support in a homemade apparatus. At pH 7.4, it exhibits spontaneous gelation with very high yield stress of 88.0 Pa and gel-to-sol temperature of 84 °C at C = 2.0 wt %. Microscopy studies revealed entangled fibrillar morphology whereas circular dichroism, Fourier tranform IR, and Thioflavin T assay indicated formation of ß-sheet rich secondary structure. The assembled state was found to be stable in neutral pH whereas either decrease or increase in the pH resulted in disassembly owing to the presence of the pH responsive Asp and Lys residues. The gel network showed ability to entrap water-soluble guest molecules such as Calcein which could be selectively released at acidic pH whereas under neutral condition the release was negligible. MTT assay revealed remarkable biocompatibility of the PEP-1 gel as almost 100% cells were alive after 48 h incubation in the presence of PEP-1 (2.0 mg/mL).