Block copolypeptide amphiphiles have been shown to self-assemble into stable and robust vesicular aggregates. Adding functionality to these polymeric vesicles is advantageous for biomedical applications such as intracellular drug delivery. Polypeptide chains were synthesized using an established procedure for the ring-opening polymerization of a-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). We prepared amphiphilic block copolypeptides with a well-defined hydrophilic segments of poly(L-lysine)60 (K60) and varied the hydrophobic poly(L-leucine)Y domain (Y=10-25 residues). The copolypeptides were self-assembled into vesicles and in vitro cytotoxicity of these suspensions were analyzed by MTS assay. We have shown the  cytotoxicity of the copolypeptides correlates with the length of the poly(L-leucine) block.

Polypeptide vesicles: Chain length studies

239th National Meeting (2010)

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