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Updated: Sep 23, 2025
Directed Assembly of Elastin-like Proteins into defined Supramolecular Structures and Cargo Encapsulation In Vitro
Published on: April 8, 2020
Controlled self-assembly into diverse stimuli-responsive microstructures: from microspheres to branched cylindrical
Xiaoteng Zhou1, Lingxiao Li1, He Qin1
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education, Tsinghua University Beijing 100084 People's Republic of China kancy@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn.
Abstract:
A series of amphiphilic PDMAEMA-SS-PCL chains with variable ratios of hydrophilic poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) to hydrophobic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) were prepared via ring-opening polymerization, in which the two different moieties were linked via a disulfide bond with reduction responsiveness. After cross-linking by the photodegradable o-nitrobenzyl linkage, the amphiphilic chains could self-assemble into microspheres, branched cylindrical micelles and vesicles, which were responsive to the reduction agent dl-dithiothreitol and UV light irradiation through different mechanisms.
