Vesicles from peptidic side-chain polymers synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization
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Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Solid-phase Submonomer Synthesis of Peptoid Polymers and their Self-Assembly into Highly-Ordered Nanosheets
Published on: November 2, 2011
Dave J Adams1, Derek Atkins, Andrew I Cooper
1Unilever Corporate Research, Sharnbrook, Bedford, MK44 1LQ, United Kingdom. d.j.adams@liverpool.ac.uk
Abstract:
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 (ATRP) 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.
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