Living polymerization of N-substituted β-alanine N-carboxyanhydrides: Kinetic investigations and preparation of an amphiphilic block copoly-β-peptoid

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Arlett Grossmann - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Robert Luxenhofer - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)

Abstract

Poly(α-peptoid)s (N-substituted polyglycines) are interesting peptidomimetic biomaterials that have been discussed for many applications. Poly(β-peptoid)s (N-substituted poly-β-alanines), although equally intriguing, have received much less attention. Here we present results that suggest that while N-substituted β-alanine N-carboxyanhydrides can undergo a living nucleophilic ring-opening polymerization, the solubility of poly(β-peptoid)s can be very poor, which contributes to the limited accessibility using other synthetic approaches. The living character of the polymerization was utilized for the preparation of the first polymerized amphiphilic block copoly-β-peptoid. Our results may open a new route towards highly defined functional poly(β-peptoid)s which could represent biomaterials.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1714-1719
Number of pages6
JournalMacromolecular rapid communications
Volume33
Issue number19
Publication statusPublished - 15 Oct 2012
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 22760946

Keywords

Keywords

  • biomaterials, living polymerization, NCA, peptidomimetics, peptoid, poly(β-peptoid)