Tunable Organogelator from Alkyl-Polypeptide Diblock Prepared by Ring-Opening Polymerization

Aust. J. Chem. 2014, 67, 59-65.

Chongyi Chen, Decheng Wu, Wenxin Fu*, and Zhibo Li*. 

Three alkyl-polypeptide hybrid amphiphiles were synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of g-(2-methoxyethoxy)esteryl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydride (L-EG1Glu NCA) using alkylamine, i.e. C6H13NH2, C14H29NH2, and C16H33NH2, as initiators. As-prepared alkyl-poly-L-EG1Glu hybrids were found to form clear organogels in several organic solvents at low concentration. FTIR and circular dichroism characterizations suggested that poly-L-EG1Glu formed a predominantly b-sheet conformation, which accounted for the gelation. Transmission electron and atomic force microscopy characterizations revealed that these copolymers formed nanoribbon structures in THF.

Schematic illustration of molecular packing for the self-assembly of alkylated monomethoxy ethylene glycol functionalized poly-l-glutamate.