Poly(l-proline)-Stabilized Polypeptide Nanostructures via Ring-Opening Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (ROPISA)

Ernesto Tinajero-Díaz, Nicola Judge, Bo Li, Thomas Leigh, Robert D. Murphy, Paul D. Topham, Matthew J. Derry, Andreas Heise

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Poly(proline) II helical motifs located at the protein–water interface stabilize the three-dimensional structures of natural proteins. Reported here is the first example of synthetic biomimetic poly(proline)-stabilized polypeptide nanostructures obtained by a straightforward ring-opening polymerization-induced self-assembly (ROPISA) process through consecutive N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization. It was found that the use of multifunctional 8-arm initiators is critical for the formation of nanoparticles. Worm-like micelles as well as spherical morphologies were obtained as confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The loading of the nanostructures with dyes is demonstrated. This fast and open-vessel procedure gives access to amino acids-based nanomaterials with potential for applications in nanomedicine.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1031-1036
Number of pages6
JournalACS Macro Letters
Volume13
Issue number8
Early online date29 Jul 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Aug 2024

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This publication is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Data Access Statement

The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmacrolett.4c00400.

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