title: Elastin-like Polypeptide Diblock Copolymers Self-Assemble into Weak Micelles.
abstract: The self-assembly of synthetic diblock copolymers has been extensively studied experimentally and theoretically. In contrast, self-assembly of polypeptide diblock copolymers has so far been mostly studied experimentally. We discovered that the theory developed for synthetic diblock copolymer does not fully explain the self-assembly of elastin-like polypeptide diblock copolymers, leading us to generalize the theory to make it applicable for these polypeptides. We demonstrated that elastin-like polypeptide diblocks self-assemble into weak micelles with dense cores and almost unstretched coronas, a state not previously observed for synthetic diblock copolymers. Weak micelles form if the surface tension at the core-corona interface is low compared to that expected of a micelle with a dense core. The predictions of the theory of weak micelles for the critical micelle temperature, hydrodynamic radius, and aggregation number of elastin-like polypeptide diblocks are in reasonable agreement with the experimentally measured values. The unique and unprecedented control of amphiphilicity in these recombinant peptide polymers reveals a new micellar state that has not been previously observed in synthetic diblock copolymer systems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
authors.forename: Wafa
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hassouneh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Macromolecular Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia; ITMO-University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Ekaterina B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Zhulina
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708, United States.
authors.forename: Ashutosh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chilkoti
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rubinstein