Peptide based folding and function of single polymer chains

Abstract

The folding of synthetic polymers into single chain nanoparticles draws inspiration from the folding of polypeptides into the functional macromolecular architectures of proteins. The building blocks of their natural inspiration,...

Trimethylsilanol Cleaves Stable Azaylides As Revealed by Unfolding of Robust “Staudinger” Single-Chain Nanoparticles

“…For instance, SCNPs folded through hydrogen bonding (HB) interactions were found to unfold upon acidification, by addition of a competitive HB compound, − anion, solvent, or by increasing temperature. , Additionally, reversible SCNPs have been unfolded triggered by addition of a base, under interrupted illumination (i.e., dark conditions), by losing CO 2 molecules , or upon external voltage stimuli . Complementary, SCNPs folded through dynamic covalent bonds like disulfide , or enamine bonds went back to their linear precursor chains in the presence of reducing agents or by lowering the pH, respectively. The decrease in activity of some catalytic SCNPs in vivo was attributed to the spontaneous unfolding of these reversible SCNPs in these complex media …”

Confinement of folding motifs within central blocks improves single chain polymer nanoparticle folding

“…Indeed several SCNPs bearing the serine-aspartate-histidine catalytic triad have been incorporated into SCNPs to mimic the hydrolytic activity of esterase. 14,15 Perhaps the simplest way to fold an SCNP is via the collapse of a hydrophobic segment of a polymer in water. Tuning the structure of the polymer can give sufficient control over the collapsed structure for many applications.…”

“…Indeed several SCNPs bearing the serine–aspartate–histidine catalytic triad have been incorporated into SCNPs to mimic the hydrolytic activity of esterase. 14,15…”