Bulk Self-Assembly of Linear Hybrid Polypeptide-Based Diblock and Triblock Copolymers

Bulk Self-Assembly of Linear Hybrid Polypeptide-Based Diblock and Triblock Copolymers 

Complex Macromolecular Architectures Synthesis, Characterization, and Self-Assembly, First Edition. 

Edited by Nikos Hadjichristidis, Akira Hirao, Yasuyuki Tezuka and Filip Du Prez. 

Combining peptide sequences and synthetic polymers is useful not only for enhanced control over nanoscale structure formation, but also for production of biologically interactive materials. Biomimetic hybrid polymers may also produce sophisticated superstructures with new material properties. Smart materials based on polypeptides may reversibly change conformation and associated properties in response to an environmental stimulus, such as a shift in pH or temperature (Rodriguez-Hernandez et ah, 2005). Polypeptide block copolymers may also be used as model systems to study generic self-assembly processes in natural proteins. Obviously, such materials could be of significant interest for a variety of biomedical and bioanalytical applications. 

This chapter will focus on linear polymer structures composed of synthetic polypeptide or polypeptide-polymer systems formed in bulk. Our aim is to present an overview of bulk self-assembled structures from polypeptide-based conjugates, specifically diblock and triblock architectures. Recent advances in theoretical developments and the first phase diagrams of such kind of polypeptide rod-coil systems will be also presented. 

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