Star-Shaped Polyphenolic Polypeptides Serving as Assembling-Typed Drug Carriers

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Polymer Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Star polypeptides offer unique physicochemical properties for biomedical applications.
• Challenges in polypeptide translation include synthesis efficiency, structural control, and biological safety.
• Tannic acid (TA) is a natural polyphenol with potential for material development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an efficient and safe synthesis strategy for star polypeptides.
• To create star polypeptides with tannic acid cores and well-defined polymeric arms.
• To explore the biomedical potential of these novel polyphenolic polypeptides.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a 1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidine (TMG)-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) monomers.
• Employed tannic acid (TA) as a multi-site initiator to form star polypeptide architectures.
• Characterized the synthesized star polypeptides for their structure, properties, and self-assembly behavior.

Main Results:

• Achieved efficient polymerization with monomer conversion up to 91.6% using the TMG-catalyzed NCA strategy.
• Synthesized star polypeptides with tannic acid cores and controllable polymeric arm numbers and lengths.
• Demonstrated remarkable nanofabrication capabilities and broad-spectrum small-molecule drug encapsulation.
• Enhanced the biosafety of polypeptides by utilizing natural TA as an initiator.

Conclusions:

• The developed TMG-catalyzed NCA polymerization strategy provides an efficient route to synthesize star polypeptides.
• The resulting polyphenolic polypeptides exhibit promising properties for biomedical applications, including drug delivery.
• This approach offers a fundamentally improved approach to polypeptide biosafety, facilitating translation to clinical use.