Unprecedented coupling of natural rubber and ELP: synthesis, characterization and self-assembly properties

Tingting Zhang (1, 2) , Frédéric Peruch (3, 2) , Anne-Laure Wirotius (3, 2) , Emmanuel Ibarboure (1, 2) , Frédéric Rosu (4) , Christophe Schatz (1, 2) , Bertrand Garbay (1, 2)

1 Team 3 LCPO : Polymer Self-Assembly & Life Sciences
2 LCPO - Laboratoire de Chimie des Polymères Organiques
3 Team 1 LCPO : Polymerization Catalyses & Engineering
4 IECB - Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie

Developing new biomaterials is an active research area owing to their applications in regenerative medicine, tissue engineering and drug delivery. Di-block copolymers, combining a hydrophobic block with a hydrophilic one, are good candidates to develop biomaterials, but they are often obtained with non-bio-derived components. To circumvent this issue, we used two biocompatible blocks: a hydrophobic block made of polyisoprene (PI) extracted from natural rubber, and a hydrophilic block consisting in recombinant elastin-like polypeptide (ELP). We report the synthesis and characterization of the polyisoprene-block-ELP copolymers, coupled via Michael addition between the double bond of the maleimide previously grafted onto the PI, and the thiol function of the C-terminal cysteine of the ELP. The resulting conjugate can self-assemble into well-defined nanoparticles of hydrodynamic radius of 35–45 nm in aqueous solution. These nanoparticles can encapsulate hydrophobic molecules, and therefore could be used as drug delivery systems for various hydrophobic drugs.

Domaines: Polymères

Tingting Zhang, Frédéric Peruch, Anne-Laure Wirotius, Emmanuel Ibarboure, Frédéric Rosu, et al.. Unprecedented coupling of natural rubber and ELP: synthesis, characterization and self-assembly properties. Polymer Chemistry, 2021, 12 (41), pp.6030-6039. ⟨10.1039/d1py00969a⟩. ⟨hal-03403619⟩