Amphiphilic Nucleobase-Containing Polypeptide Copolymers—Synthesis and Self-Assembly

Nucleobase-containing polymers are an emerging class of building blocks for the self-assembly of nanoobjects with promising applications in nanomedicine and biology. Here we present a macromolecular engineering approach to design nucleobase-containing polypeptide polymers incorporating thymine that...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Michel Nguyen, Khalid Ferji, Sébastien Lecommandoux, Colin Bonduelle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-06-01
Series:Polymers
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/12/6/1357
Description
Summary:Nucleobase-containing polymers are an emerging class of building blocks for the self-assembly of nanoobjects with promising applications in nanomedicine and biology. Here we present a macromolecular engineering approach to design nucleobase-containing polypeptide polymers incorporating thymine that further self-assemble in nanomaterials. Diblock and triblock copolypeptide polymers were prepared using sequential ring-opening polymerization of γ-Benzyl-<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-glutamate <i>N</i>-carboxyanhydride (BLG-NCA) and γ-Propargyl-<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-glutamate <i>N</i>-carboxyanhydride (PLG-NCA), followed by an efficient copper(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAc) functionalization with thymidine monophosphate. Resulting amphiphilic copolymers were able to spontaneously form nanoobjects in aqueous solutions avoiding a pre-solubilization step with an organic solvent. Upon self-assembly, light scattering measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed the impact of the architecture (diblock versus triblock) on the morphology of the resulted nanoassemblies. Interestingly, the nucleobase-containing nanoobjects displayed free thymine units in the shell that were found available for further DNA-binding.
ISSN:2073-4360