Polypeptides are a rich system for the study of complex coacervation owing to their conveniently tunable degrees of ionization and the fact that they are a class of polymers with identical chain backbones making possible the comparison of a fairly wide range of polymers of different ionic character but of very similar overall molecular architectures. Results will be presented on the phase behavior and self-assembly in multi-component polyelectrolyte mixtures comprising several different polypeptide pairs. This work quantifies several effects of molecular weight, salt concentration, and polymer concentration on phase behavior and self-assembly.

Polypeptides as model polymers for the study of complex coacervation

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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