Propagation of Enzyme‐Induced Surface Events inside Polymer Nanoassemblies for a Fast and Tunable Response

Abstract

We report a new molecular design strategy that allows for the propagation of surface enzymatic events inside a supramolecular assembly for accelerated molecular release. The approach addresses a key shortcoming encountered with many of the currently available enzyme‐induced disassembly strategies, which rely on the unimer–aggregate equilibria of amphiphilic assemblies. The enzymatic response of the host to predictably tune the kinetics of guest‐molecule release can be programmed by controlling substrate accessibility through electrostatic complexation with a complementary polymer. Accelerated guest release in response to the enzyme is shown to be accomplished by a cooperative mechanism of enzyme‐triggered supramolecular host disassembly and host reorganization.

Design and Evaluation of Nanoscale Materials with Programmed Responsivity towards Epigenetic Enzymes

“…[3] Usually, the enzyme-nanomaterials interactions result in phase transition across different domains of the polymers forming the nanomaterials, leading to the gradual or catastrophic collapse of the assembled structure. [4,5] Enzyme-responsive nanomaterials has found useful applications in responsive soft materials design. [6][7][8] Specific application areas include biotechnology, agriculture, enzyme-catalysis, and medicine, where the materials can be used to form selfassembled platforms to encapsulate contents, such as small and macromolecular drugs, [9,10] diagnostic agents, [3] and genetic materials [11,12] .…”