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Tuning Net Charge in Aliphatic Polycarbonates Alters Solubility and Protein Complexation Behavior.

Nicholas D PoseyYuanchi MaMichael LueckheideJulia DanischewskiJeffrey A FaganVivek M Prabhu
Published in: ACS omega (2021)
A synthetic strategy yielded polyelectrolytes and polyampholytes with tunable net charge for complexation and protein binding. Organocatalytic ring-opening polymerizations yielded aliphatic polycarbonates that were functionalized with both carboxylate and ammonium side chains in a post-polymerization, radical-mediated thiol-ene reaction. Incorporating net charge into the polymer architecture altered the chain dimensions in phosphate buffered solution in a manner consistent with self-complexation and complexation behavior with model proteins. A net cationic polyampholyte with 5% of carboxylate side chains formed large clusters rather than small complexes with bovine serum albumin, while 50% carboxylate polyampholyte was insoluble. Overall, the aliphatic polycarbonates with varying net charge exhibited different macrophase solution behaviors when mixed with protein, where self-complexation appears to compete with protein binding and larger-scale complexation.
Keyphrases
  • binding protein
  • protein protein
  • solar cells
  • small molecule
  • high resolution
  • mass spectrometry
  • electron transfer