Many biomolecules rely on the reversible self-assembly of helices to form materials that are critical for providing structural support (e.g., collagen) and information storage (e.g., nucleic acids) in natural systems. Synthetic helices have been implemented in a variety of frontier technologies, but there are limited demonstrations of dynamic synthetic systems. Stereoregular isomers of poly(methyl methacrylate) form unique synthetic triple helices, and we have demonstrated the capability of these materials to undergo molecular weight-dependent strand displacement, similar to DNA. Syndiotactic-PMMA-PEG diblock copolymers were synthesized that complex to complementary isotactic-PMMA to form self-assembled structures. The molecular weight of the isotactic-PMMA dictates whether the complexes assemble into micelles or nanoworms. Interestingly, employing the molecular selectivity, we were able to dynamically switch between these assembled morphologies using solution strand displacement. This unprecedented capability can now be implemented in the design of multi-stimuli responsive materials with orthogonal dynamic interactions.

Switchable amphiphile self-assembly implementing molecular selectivity of PMMA triple helix formation

255th National Meeting (2018)

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