Amphiphilic Polyethylene-b-poly(L-lysine) Block Copolymer: Synthesis, Self-Assembly, and Responsivity.
Int J Mol Sci
; 24(6)2023 Mar 13.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36982576
ABSTRACT
Polyethylene-b-polypeptide copolymers are biologically interesting, but studies of their synthesis and properties are very few. This paper reports synthesis and characterization of well-defined amphiphilic polyethylene-block-poly(L-lysine) (PE-b-PLL) block copolymers by combining nickel-catalyzed living ethylene polymerization with controlled ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine-N-carboxyanhydride (Z-Lys-NCA) and sequential post-functionalization. Amphiphilic PE-b-PLL block copolymers self-assembled into spherical micelles with a hydrophobic PE core in aqueous solution. The pH and ionic responsivities of PE-b-PLL polymeric micelles were investigated by means of fluorescence spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, UV-circular dichroism, and transmission electron microscopy. The variation of pH values led to the conformational alteration of PLL from α-helix to coil, thereby changing the micelle dimensions.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Polylysine
/
Micelles
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China