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Polypeptide hybrid copolymers as selective micellar nanocarriers in nonaqueous media

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Abstract

The self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(l-lysine) (PS-PLLys·HCl) copolymers with different block lengths has been studied in toluene. The obtained spherical micelles exhibit size variations upon addition of acids or bases, as indicated by light and neutron scattering studies. It is shown that pyridine induces a shrinking of the polystyrene chains in the corona region of the micelles, decreasing the aggregate solvent interface. The addition of benzoic acid, on the other hand, leads to a swelling of the copolymer micelles proportional to the molar fraction of polypeptide. This behavior suggests a selective permeability of the PS-PLLys micelles and the possibility to encapsulate organic compounds in toluene depending on their chemical nature.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the DFG (Sfb 448, TP A12, and BIOSONS) for financial support. T.H. also would like to acknowledge financial support from the Sfb 481 (TP A15).

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Author notes

  1. Guillermo Orts Gil

    Present address: Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Stranski-Laboratorium für Physikalische und Theoretische Chemie, Institut für Chemie, Technische Universität Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 124, 10623, Berlin, Germany

    Guillermo Orts Gil & Sylvain Prévost

  2. Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid-und Grenzflächenforschung, Wissenschaftspark Golm, 14424, Potsdam, Germany

    Magdalena Łosik, Florian Hermes & Helmut Schlaad

  3. Helmholtz-Zentrum-Berlin, Glienicker Str. 100, 14109, Berlin, Germany

    Sylvain Prévost

  4. Universität Bayreuth, Physikalische Chemie I, Universitätsstr. 30, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany

    Thomas Hellweg

Authors
  1. Guillermo Orts Gil
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  2. Sylvain Prévost
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  3. Magdalena Łosik
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  4. Florian Hermes
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  5. Helmut Schlaad
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  6. Thomas Hellweg
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Helmut Schlaad or Thomas Hellweg.

Appendices

Appendix A: additional sample parameters

Average molecular volumes of the polymers and the PLLys and PS blocks are displayed in Table 4. Assuming monomeric micelles with a dense PLLys core and a PS shell, the PLLys cores having volumes lying between 12 and 30 nm3 would fit into spheres of radii between 1.4 and 2 nm, and the whole “dry” polymer would fit into spheres of radii between 2.4 and 2.9 nm.

Table 4 Composition of the PS-b-PLLys copolymers 1-3. n is the average number of repeat units, v is the molecular volume or volume fraction, and m is the mass fraction
Full size table

Appendix B: scattering length densities and molecular volumes

The values from Table 5 were used for the fits. From Tables 4 and 5, we can calculate the average SLD of the whole polymers, at 1.31, 1.25, and 1.27·10 l0 cm−2. The average value of 1.3·10 l0 cm−2 will be used.

Table 5 Scattering length densities (SLD) and apparent molecular volumes (v m ) of the materials
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Orts Gil, G., Prévost, S., Łosik, M. et al. Polypeptide hybrid copolymers as selective micellar nanocarriers in nonaqueous media. Colloid Polym Sci 287, 1295–1304 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-009-2096-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00396-009-2096-y

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