En route for highly functional biomaterials and nanodevices, amphiphilic block copolymer structures are gaining in complexity and precision in their macromolecular structure. In addition to their intrinsic self-assembly properties, they may include stimuli-responsiveness possibly in addition to relevant biological functions.<br/>By combining the self-assembly properties of block copolymers together with the richness of function-bearing peptides, protein or saccharide domains, we aim at creating functional nanosystems integrating the advantages of both materials. We developed synthetic strategies for the design of polypeptides and polysaccharide-polypeptide biohybrids with controlled placement of sugar functionality. We were interested in designing copolymers able to self-assemble into well-defined micelles and vesicles that can advantageously be loaded with drugs and present a surface with multivalent presentation of bioactive saccharides or oligosaccharides, such as galactose, galactan that were shown to target specific cell receptors.<br/>In order to be used as model systems for the establishment of structure-bioactivity relationships, they however suffer from some deviation in their chain-to-chain structure and molar masses. If not necessarily an issue for the final purpose, there is still a critical need to develop perfect polymer structures during the development stages, for better understanding and rational design.<br/>The latest development involves the production of protein-like polymers by protein engineering. Recombinant DNA techniques allow fine-tuning of amino acids positioning within the final polymer product, thereby enabling the incorporation of specific biological properties (including degradation), in addition to imparting intrinsic biocompatibility. We especially developed Elastin-Like Polypeptides (ELPs) with particular functions that allow bio-orthogonal coupling strategies for post-modifications with a large variety of functional groups.

Design of polypeptide and protein-based copolymer self-assembled biomaterials

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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