Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
<mark>Journal publication date</mark> | 11/2008 |
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<mark>Journal</mark> | Biomacromolecules |
Issue number | 11 |
Volume | 9 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Pages (from-to) | 2997-3003 |
Publication Status | Published |
<mark>Original language</mark> | English |
Block copolymers can adopt a wide range of morphologies in dilute aqueous solution. There is a significant amount of interest in the use of block copolymer vesicles for a number of applications. We show that a series of oligo(valine) and oligo(phenylalanine) peptides coupled to a methacrylic group can be prepared by conventional peptide coupling techniques. These can be successfully polymerized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATPP) in hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) giving access to poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(side-chain peptides). Many of these polymers self-assemble to form vesicles using an organic to aqueous solvent exchange. One example with a divaline hydrophobic block gives a mixture of toroids and vesicles. Circular dichroism demonstrates that secondary structuring is observed in the hydrophobic region of the vesicle walls for the valine side-chain containing polymers.