Polypeptide Nanoparticles Obtained from Emulsion Polymerization of Amino Acid N-Carboxyanhydrides

Jaco Jacobs (1) , Dražen Pavlović (2) , Hannah Prydderch (2) , Mohammad-Amin Moradi (3) , Emmanuel Ibarboure (4, 5) , Johan Heuts (3) , Sébastien Lecommandoux (4, 5) , Andreas Heise (2)

1 DCU - Dublin City University [Dublin]
2 RCSI - Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
3 TU/e - Eindhoven University of Technology [Eindhoven]
4 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques
5 Team 3 LCPO : Polymer Self-Assembly & Life Sciences

Polypeptide nanoparticles were obtained by the miniemulsion polymerization of S-(o-nitrobenzyl)-l-cysteine (NBC) N-carboxyanhydride (NCA). Through process optimization, reaction conditions were identified that allowed the polymerization of the water sensitive NCA to yield nanoparticles of about 220 nm size. Subsequent UV-irradiation of the nanoparticle emulsions caused the in situ removal of the nitrobenzyl group and particle cross-linking through disulfide bond formation accompanied by the shrinkage of the particles.

Mots clés: Amino Acid N-Carboxyanhydrides; Emulsion Polymerization; Polypeptides

Domaines: Polymères; Matériaux; Matière Molle [cond-mat.soft]

Jaco Jacobs, Dražen Pavlović, Hannah Prydderch, Mohammad-Amin Moradi, Emmanuel Ibarboure, et al.. Polypeptide Nanoparticles Obtained from Emulsion Polymerization of Amino Acid N-Carboxyanhydrides. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2019, 141 (32), pp.12522-12526. ⟨10.1021/jacs.9b06750⟩. ⟨hal-02239076⟩