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Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Gyroid Nickel Nanostructures from Diblock Copolymer Supramolecules
Published on: April 28, 2014
Poly(l-proline)-Stabilized Polypeptide Nanostructures via Ring-Opening Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (ROPISA)
Ernesto Tinajero-Díaz1, Nicola Judge1, Bo Li1
1Department of Chemistry, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, 123 St. Stephen's Green, D02 YN77 Dublin, Ireland.
Abstract:
Poly(proline) II helical motifs located at the protein-water interface stabilize the three-dimensional structures of natural proteins. Reported here is the first example of synthetic biomimetic poly(proline)-stabilized polypeptide nanostructures obtained by a straightforward ring-opening polymerization-induced self-assembly (ROPISA) process through consecutive N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) polymerization. It was found that the use of multifunctional 8-arm initiators is critical for the formation of nanoparticles. Worm-like micelles as well as spherical morphologies were obtained as confirmed by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The loading of the nanostructures with dyes is demonstrated. This fast and open-vessel procedure gives access to amino acids-based nanomaterials with potential for applications in nanomedicine.
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