title: Regioregular Alternating Polyampholytes Have Enhanced Biomimetic Ice Recrystallization Activity Compared to Random Copolymers and the Role of Side Chain versus Main Chain Hydrophobicity.
abstract: Antifreeze proteins from polar fish species are potent ice recrystallization inhibitors (IRIs) effectively stopping all ice growth. Additives that have IRI activity have been shown to enhance cellular cryopreservation with potential to improve the distribution of donor cells and tissue. Polyampholytes, polymers with both anionic and cationic side chains, are a rapidly emerging class of polymer cryoprotectants, but their mode of action and the structural features essential for activity are not clear. Here regioregular polyampholytes are synthesized from maleic anhydride copolymers to enable stoichiometric installation of the charged groups, ensuring regioregularity, which is not possible using conventional random copolymerization. A modular synthetic strategy is employed to enable the backbone and side chain hydrophobicity to be varied, with side chain hydrophobicity found to have a profound effect on the IRI activity. The activity of the regioregular polymers was found to be superior to those derived from a standard random copolymerization with statistical incorporation of monomers, demonstrating that sequence composition is crucial to the activity of IRI active polyampholytes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and ‡Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick , Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stubbs
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and ‡Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick , Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lipecki
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and ‡Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick , Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Matthew I
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8297-1278
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Gibson
mesh_terms: D021301:Antifreeze Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D032701:Biomimetics; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D007053:Ice; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D021301:Antifreeze Proteins; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D007053:Ice; D008299:Maleic Anhydrides; D011108:Polymers