Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Formation of Ordered Biomolecular Structures by the Self-assembly of Short Peptides
Published on: November 21, 2013
Self-assembled nanostructures from peptide-synthetic hybrid block copolymers: complex, stimuli-responsive rod-coil
Jérôme Babin1, Juan Rodriguez-Hernandez, Sébastien Lecommandoux
1Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques, CNRS, ENSCPB-Université Bordeaux 1, PESSAC, France.
Abstract:
The synthesis, solution and solid state self-assembly properties of a series of polyisoprene-b-poly(epsilon-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine) PI-b-PZLys and polyisoprene-b-poly(L-lysine) PI-b-PLys block copolymers have been examined. The formation of stimuli-responsive micelles in water has been studied as a function of pH and ionic strength using static and dynamic light scattering, UV-circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy. The observed change in the micelles dimensions has been directly attributed to the conformational transition in the secondary structure of polypeptide chains. In bulk, these rod-coil copolymers form self-assembled structures that have been characterized using DSC, DMA, WAXS and SAXS techniques. Hexagonal in lamellar (HL) and more interestingly hexagonal in hexagonal (HH) morphologies have been evidenced as a function of the chemical composition.
