Polypeptide and Protein-Based Conjugate Nanoparticles via Aqueous Ring-Opening Polymerization-Induced Self-Assembly (ROPISA).

Protein-polymer conjugates and polymeric nanomaterials hold great promise in many applications including biomaterials, medicine or nanoelectronics. In this work, we present the first PISA (polymerization-induced self-assembly) approach performed in aqueous medium enabling protein-polymer conjugates and nanoparticles entirely composed of amino acids by using ring-opening polymerization (ROP). We indeed show that aqueous ROPISA can be used with protein or peptidic macroinitiators without prior chemical modification and afford the simple preparation of nanomaterials with protein-like property, for example to implement biomimetic thermoresponsivity in drug delivery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.