Recent advances in crystallization and self‐assembly of polypeptoid polymers

Abstract

Poly(N‐substituted glycine)s, or polypeptoids, have attracted great interest from researchers due to their structural similarity to polypeptides. By taking advantage of relative ease of synthesis and good solubility in common solvents, polypeptoid polymers provide a versatile platform to generate peptide mimics with well‐defined chemical structures and architectures. As a class of peptidomimetic polymers, a deep understanding on the impact of side‐chain structures, main‐chain topologies, and backbone conformations with respect to the aggregation behaviors is the prerequisite for developing peptidomimetic polymers toward macromolecular and supramolecular engineering. This mini‐review highlights recent developments in the crystallization and self‐assembly of homopolymers, block copolymers, and macrocycles of polypeptoids.

A Close Look at Molecular Self-Assembly with the Transmission Electron Microscope

“…Small molecules and polymers encompass a broad class of materials which includes amphiphiles, surfactant-like molecules, peptide-amphiphiles, ,− polypeptoids, − ,− ionic liquids, , host–guest complexes, − dendrimers, ,, and block copolymers. − Unlike biomolecules and porous frameworks, these materials are typically disordered, which eliminates methods such as single particle analysis or electron crystallography for structure determination. However, it should be noted that single particle analysis has been applied to several small molecule assemblies (section ).…”

Machine Learning Models and Dimensionality Reduction for Prediction of Polymer Properties

“…Recent developments in polymer synthesis have allowed for the synthesis of a variety of sequence-specific bioinspired polymer materials. – This new class of polymers, dubbed “polypeptoids,” enables the creation of designer macromolecules with specific sequences tailored further to individual applications. Additionally, these materials are monodisperse, allowing for never-before-seen direct comparison with simulations, which traditionally are also monodisperse due to model limitations.…”

A Field Guide to Optimizing Peptoid Synthesis

“…We hope that this Perspective will enable others to adopt peptoids into their research easily to further advance the field. We would encourage readers to also access other published reviews on polypeptoids which focus on their synthesis (e.g., solid-phase, − ring-opening polymerization, Ugi polymerization, − polypeptoid containing copolymers, , macrocyclization − ), properties (e.g., self-assembly, , stimuli-responsiveness), and applications. , We would also like to highlight more comprehensive reviews. − Here, each section outlines methodologies currently employed to optimize peptoid synthesis, such as in improving efficiency, incorporating desired functionalities, and increasing polymerization control. The Perspective concludes with our outlook on opportunities in the peptoid field that have yet to be explored fully, including interesting polymer architectures as well as synthetic methods that are more efficient, green, sequence-controlled, and scalable.…”

“…We hope that this Perspective will enable others to adopt peptoids into their research easily to further advance the field. We would encourage readers to also access other published reviews on polypeptoids which focus on their synthesis (e.g., solidphase, 11−14 ring-opening polymerization, 15 Ugi polymerization, 16−18 polypeptoid containing copolymers, 19,20 macrocyclization 21−23 ), properties (e.g., self-assembly, 24,25 stimuliresponsiveness 26 ), and applications. 27,28 We would also like to highlight more comprehensive reviews.…”