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In the present thesis, the self-assembly of multi thermoresponsive block copolymers in dilute aqueous solution was investigated by a combination of turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering, TEM measurements, NMR as well as fluorescence spectroscopy. The successive conversion of such block copolymers from a hydrophilic into a hydrophobic state includes intermediate amphiphilic states with a variable hydrophilic-to-lipophilic balance. As a result, the self-organization is not following an all-or-none principle but a multistep aggregation in dilute solution was observed. The synthesis of double thermoresponsive diblock copolymers as well as triple thermoresponsive triblock copolymers was realized using twofold-TMS labeled RAFT agents which provide direct information about the average molar mass as well as residual end group functionality from a routine proton NMR spectrum. First a set of double thermosensitive diblock copolymers poly(N-n-propylacrylamide)-b-poly(N-ethylacrylamide) was synthesized which differed only in the relative size of the two blocks. Depending on the relative block lengths, different aggregation pathways were found. Furthermore, the complementary TMS-labeled end groups served as NMR-probes for the self-assembly of these diblock copolymers in dilute solution. Reversible, temperature sensitive peak splitting of the TMS-signals in NMR spectroscopy was indicative for the formation of mixed star-/flower-like micelles in some cases. Moreover, triple thermoresponsive triblock copolymers from poly(N-n-propylacrylamide) (A), poly(methoxydiethylene glycol acrylate) (B) and poly(N-ethylacrylamide) (C) were obtained from sequential RAFT polymerization in all possible block sequences (ABC, BAC, ACB). Their self-organization behavior in dilute aqueous solution was found to be rather complex and dependent on the positioning of the different blocks within the terpolymers. Especially the localization of the low-LCST block (A) had a large influence on the aggregation behavior. Above the first cloud point, aggregates were only observed when the A block was located at one terminus. Once placed in the middle, unimolecular micelles were observed which showed aggregation only above the second phase transition temperature of the B block. Carrier abilities of such triple thermosensitive triblock copolymers tested in fluorescence spectroscopy, using the solvatochromic dye Nile Red, suggested that the hydrophobic probe is less efficiently incorporated by the polymer with the BAC sequence as compared to ABC or ACB polymers above the first phase transition temperature. In addition, due to the problem of increasing loss of end group functionality during the subsequent polymerization steps, a novel concept for the one-step synthesis of multi thermoresponsive block copolymers was developed. This allowed to synthesize double thermoresponsive di- and triblock copolymers in a single polymerization step. The copolymerization of different N-substituted maleimides with a thermosensitive styrene derivative (4-vinylbenzyl methoxytetrakis(oxyethylene) ether) led to alternating copolymers with variable LCST. Consequently, an excess of this styrene-based monomer allowed the synthesis of double thermoresponsive tapered block copolymers in a single polymerization step.
Neue Systeme für triphile, fluorkohlenstofffreie Blockcopolymere in Form von Acrylat-basierten thermoresponsiven Blockcopolymeren sowie Acrylat- bzw. Styrol-basierten Terblock-Polyelektrolyten mit unterschiedlich chaotropen Kationen des jeweiligen polyanionischen Blocks wurden entwickelt. Multikompartiment-Mizellen, mizellare Aggregate mit ultrastrukturiertem hydrophobem Mizellkern die biologischen Strukturen wie dem Humanalbumin nachempfunden sind, sollten bei der Selbstorganisation in wässriger Umgebung entstehen. Durch Verwendung apolarer und polarer Kohlenwasserstoff-Domänen anstelle von fluorophilen Fluorkohlenstoff-Domänen sollte erstmals anhand solcher triphilen Systeme nachgewiesen werden, ob diese in der Lage zur selektiven Aufnahme hydrophober Substanzen in unterschiedliche Domänen des Mizellkerns sind.
Mit Hilfe von sequentieller RAFT-Polymerisation wurden diese neuen triphilen Systeme hergestellt, die über einen permanent hydrophilen, eine permanent stark hydrophoben und einen dritten Block verfügen, der durch externe Einflüsse, speziell die Induzierung eines thermischen Coil-to-globule-Übergangs bzw. die Zugabe von organischen, hydrophoben Gegenionen von einem wasserlöslichen in einen polar-hydrophoben Block umgewandelt werden kann. Als RAFT-Agens wurde 4-(Trimethylsilyl)benzyl(3-(trimethylsilyl)-propyl)-trithiocarbonat mit zwei unterschiedlichen TMS-Endgruppen verwendet, das kontrollierte Reaktions-bedingungen sowie die molekulare Charakterisierung der komplexen Copolymere ermöglichte.
Die beiden Grundtypen der linearen ternären Blockcopolymere wurden jeweils in zwei 2 Modell-Systeme, die geringfügig in ihren chemischen Eigenschaften sowie in dem Blocklängenverhältnis von hydrophilen und hydrophoben Polymersegmenten variierten, realisiert und unterschiedliche Permutation der Blöcke aufwiesen.
Als ersten Polymertyp wurden amphiphile thermoresponsive Blockcopolymere verwendet. Modell-System 1 bestand aus dem permanent hydrophoben Block Poly(1,3-Bis(butylthio)-prop-2-yl-acrylat), permanent hydrophilen Block Poly(Oligo(ethylenglykol)monomethyletheracrylat) und den thermoresponsiven Block Poly(N,N‘-Diethylacrylamid), dessen Homopolymer eine LCST-Phasenübergang (LCST, engl.: lower critical solution temperature) bei ca. 36°C aufweist. Das Modell-System 2 bestand aus dem permanent hydrophilen Block Poly(2-(Methylsulfinyl)ethylacrylat), dem permanent hydrophoben Block Poly(2-Ethylhexylacrylat) und wiederum Poly(N,N‘-Diethylacrylamid). Im ternären Blockcopolymer erhöhte sich, je nach Blocksequenz und relativen Blocklängen, der LCST-Übergang auf 50 – 65°C. Bei der Untersuchung der Selbstorganisation für die Polymer-Systeme dieses Typs wurde die Temperatur variiert, um verschieden mizellare Überstrukturen in wässriger Umgebung zu erzeugen bzw. oberhalb des LCST-Übergangs Multikompartiment-Mizellen nachzuweisen. Die Unterschiede in der Hydrophilie bzw. den sterischen Ansprüche der gewählten hydrophilen Blöcke sowie die Variation der jeweiligen Blocksequenzen ermöglichte darüber hinaus die Bildung verschiedenster Morphologien mizellarer Aggregate.
Der zweite Typ basierte auf ein Terblock-Polyelektrolyt-System mit Polyacrylaten bzw. Polystyrolen als Polymerrückgrat. Polymere ionische Flüssigkeiten wurden als Vorlage der Entwicklung zweier Modell-Systeme genommen. Eines der beiden Systeme bestand aus dem permanent hydrophilen Block Poly(Oligo(ethylenglykol)monomethyletheracrylat, dem permanent hydrophoben Block Poly(2-Ethylhexylacrylat) sowie dem Polyanion-Block Poly(3-Sulfopropylacrylat). Die Hydrophobie des Polyanion-Blocks variierte durch Verwendung großer organischer Gegenionen, nämlich Tetrabutylammonium, Tetraphenylphosphonium und Tetraphenylstibonium.
Analog wurde in einem weiteren System aus dem permanent hydrophilen Block Poly(4-Vinylbenzyltetrakis(ethylenoxy)methylether), dem permanent hydrophoben Block Poly(para-Methylstyrol) und Poly(4-Styrolsulfonat) mit den entsprechenden Gegenionen gebildet. Aufgrund unterschiedlicher Kettensteifigkeit in beiden Modell-Systemen sollte es bei der Selbstorganisation der mizellarer Aggregate zu unterschiedlichen Überstrukturen kommen.
Mittels DSC-Messungen konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass für alle Modell-Systeme die Blöcke in Volumen-Phase miteinander inkompatibel waren, was eine Voraussetzung für Multikompartimentierung von mizellaren Aggregaten ist. Die Größe mizellarer Aggregate sowie der Einfluss externer Einflüsse wie der Veränderung der Temperatur bzw. der Hydrophobie und Größe von Gegenionen auf den hydrodynamischen Durchmesser mittels DLS-Untersuchungen wurden für alle Modell-Systeme untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zu den thermoresponsiven ternären Blockcopolymeren belegten , dass sich oberhalb der Phasenübergangstemperatur des thermoresponsiven Blocks die Struktur der mizellaren Aggregate änderte, indem der p(DEAm)-Block scheinbar kollabierte und so zusammen mit den permanent hydrophoben Block den jeweiligen Mizellkern bildete. Nach gewisser Equilibrierungszeit konnten bei Raumtemperatur dir ursprünglichen mizellaren Strukturen regeneriert werden. Hingegen konnte für die Terblock-Polyelektrolyt-Systeme bei Verwendung der unterschiedlich hydrophoben Gegenionen kein signifikanter Unterschied in der Größe der mizellaren Aggregate beobachtet werden.
Zur Abbildung der mizellaren Aggregate mittels kryogene Transmissionselektronenmikroskopie (cryo-TEM) der mizellaren Aggregate war mit Poly(1,3-Bis(butylthio)-prop-2-yl-acrylat) ein Modell-System so konzipiert, dass ein erhöhter Elektronendichtekontrast durch Schwefel-Atome die Visualisierung ultrastrukturierter hydrophober Mizellkerne ermöglichte. Dieser Effekt sollte in den Terblock-Polyelektrolyt-Systemen auch durch die Gegenionen Tetraphenylphosphonium und Tetraphenylstibonium nachgestellt werden. Während bei den thermoresponsiven Systemen auch oberhalb des Phasenübergangs kein Hinweis auf Ultrastrukturierung beobachtet wurde, waren für die Polyelektrolyt-Systeme, insbesondere im Fall von Tetraphenylstibonium als Gegenion Überstrukturen zu erkennen. Der Nachweis der Bildung von Multikompartiment-Mizellen war für beide Polymertypen mit dieser abbildenden Methode nicht möglich. Die Unterschiede in der Elektronendichte einzelner Blöcke müsste möglicherweise weiter erhöht werden um Aussagen diesbezüglich zu treffen.
Die Untersuchung von ortsspezifischen Solubilisierungsexperimenten mit solvatochromen Fluoreszenzfarbstoffen mittels „steady-state“-Fluoreszenzspektroskopie durch Vergleich der Solubilisierungsorte der Terblockcopolymere bzw. –Polyelektrolyte mit den jeweiligen Solubilisierungsorten von Homopolymer- und Diblock-Vorstufen sollten den qualitativen Nachweis der Multikompartimentierung erbringen. Aufgrund der geringen Mengen an Farbstoff, die für die Solubilisierungsexperimente eingesetzt wurden zeigten DLS-Untersuchungen keine störenden Effekte der Sonden auf die Größe der mizellaren Aggregate. Jedoch erschwerten Quench-Effekte im Falle der Polyelektrolyt Modell-Systeme eine klare Interpretation der Daten. Im Falle der Modell-Systeme der thermoresponsiven Blockcopolymere waren dagegen deutliche solvatochrome Effekte zwischen der Solubilisierung in den mizellaren Aggregaten unterhalb und oberhalb des Phasenübergangs zu erkennen. Dies könnte ein Hinweis auf Multikompartimentierung oberhalb des LCST-Übergangs sein. Ohne die Informationen einer Strukturanalyse wie z.B. der Röntgen- oder Neutronenkleinwinkelstreuung (SAXS oder SANS), kann nicht abschließend geklärt werden, ob die Solubilisierung in mizellaren hydrophoben Domänen des kollabierten Poly(N,N‘-Diethylacrylamid) erfolgt oder in einer Mischform von mizellaren Aggregaten mit gemittelter Polarität.
Glycan-protein interactions are essential biological processes with many disease-related modulations and variations. One of the key proteins involved in tumor progression and metastasis is galectin-3 (Gal-3). A lot of effort is put into the development of Gal-3 inhibitors as new therapeutic agents. The avidity of glycan-protein interactions is strongly enhanced by multivalent ligand presentation. Multivalent presentation of glycans can be accomplished by utilizing glycopolymers, which are polymers with pendent glycan groups. For the production of glycopolymers, glycomonomers are synthesized by a regioselective, microwave-assisted approach starting from lactose. The resulting methacrylamide derivatives are polymerized by RAFT and immobilized on gold surfaces using the trithiocarbonate group of the chain transfer agent. Surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy enables the label free kinetic characterization of Gal-3 binding to these multivalent glycopolymers. The measurements indicate oligomerization of Gal-3 upon exposure to multivalent environments and reveal strong specific interaction with the immobilized polymers.
Bioorganisch-synthetische Blockcopolymere sind sowohl für die Materialwissenschaft als auch für die Medizin hochinteressant. Diese Arbeit beschäftigte sich mit neuen Synthesewegen für die Herstellung dieser Blockcopolymere. Zunächst wurde der klassische Ansatz zur Herstellung eines Blockcopolymers über die Kupplung der beiden Segmente aufgegriffen. Hierzu wurde eine Methode zur Synthese von selektiv säureendfunktionalisierten Polyacrylaten mittels einer terminalen Benzylesterschutzgruppe vorgestellt. Für die Herstellung von bioorganisch-synthetischen Blockcopolymeren mit einem größeren Polymersegment wurde daher ein anderer Syntheseansatz entwickelt. Dieser geht von einem funktionalisierten Oligopeptid aus, an dem durch Polymerisation das synthetische Segment aufgebaut wird. Der Aufbau erfolgte durch kontrolliert radikalische Polymerisation, um ein möglichst definiertes Segment zu erhalten. Zunächst wurde eine Synthese von Oligopeptid-Makroinitiatoren für die ATRP-Polymerisation durchgeführt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass in geeigneten polaren Lösungsmitteln (DMSO, DMF) eine Polymerisation mit dem ATRP-Oligopeptid-Makroinitiator erfolgreich ist. Allerdings treten während der Polymerisation Wechselwirkungen zwischen dem Katalysator und dem Oligopeptid auf. Eine Alternative bietet die RAFT-Polymerisation, da sie ohne einen Katalysator durchgeführt wird. Es gelang ausgehend von dem Oligopeptid-ATRP-Makroinitiator den Überträger herzustellen. Die RAFT-Polymerisation mit einem Oligopeptidüberträger stellt eine wichtige Methode für die Herstellung von bioorganisch-synthetischen Blockcopolymeren dar. Sie besitzt eine hohe Toleranz gegenüber funktionellen Gruppen. Die so hergestellten Blockcopolymere sind frei von Verunreinigungen, wie z.B. Übergangsmetallen. Dabei läßt sich das Molekulargewicht des synthetischen Blocks bei einer Polydispersität um 1,2 gut kontrollieren.
Reversible addition-fragmentation transfer (RAFT) was used as a controlling technique for studying the aqueous heterophase polymerization. The polymerization rates obtained by calorimetric investigation of ab initio emulsion polymerization of styrene revealed the strong influence of the type and combination of the RAFT agent and initiator on the polymerization rate and its profile. The studies in all-glass reactors on the evolution of the characteristic data such as average molecular weight, molecular weight distribution, and average particle size during the polymerization revealed the importance of the peculiarities of the heterophase system such as compartmentalization, swelling, and phase transfer. These results illustrated the important role of the water solubility of the initiator in determining the main loci of polymerization and the crucial role of the hydrophobicity of the RAFT agent for efficient transportation to the polymer particles. For an optimum control during ab-initio batch heterophase polymerization of styrene with RAFT, the RAFT agent must have certain hydrophilicity and the initiator must be water soluble in order to minimize reactions in the monomer phase. An analytical method was developed for the quantitative measurements of the sorption of the RAFT agents to the polymer particles based on the absorption of the visible light by the RAFT agent. Polymer nanoparticles, temperature, and stirring were employed to simulate the conditions of a typical aqueous heterophase polymerization system. The results confirmed the role of the hydrophilicity of the RAFT agent on the effectiveness of the control due to its fast transportation to the polymer particles during the initial period of polymerization after particle nucleation. As the presence of the polymer particles were essential for the transportation of the RAFT agents into the polymer dispersion, it was concluded that in an ab initio emulsion polymerization the transport of the hydrophobic RAFT agent only takes place after the nucleation and formation of the polymer particles. While the polymerization proceeds and the particles grow the rate of the transportation of the RAFT agent increases with conversion until the free monomer phase disappears. The degradation of the RAFT agent by addition of KPS initiator revealed unambigueous evidence on the mechanism of entry in heterophase polymerization. These results showed that even extremely hydrophilic primary radicals, such as sulfate ion radical stemming from the KPS initiator, can enter the polymer particles without necessarily having propagated and reached a certain chain length. Moreover, these results recommend the employment of azo-initiators instead of persulfates for the application in seeded heterophase polymerization with RAFT agents. The significant slower rate of transportation of the RAFT agent to the polymer particles when its solvent (styrene) was replaced with a more hydrophilic monomer (methyl methacrylate) lead to the conclusion that a complicated cooperative and competitive interplay of solubility parameters and interaction parameter with the particles exist, determining an effective transportation of the organic molecules to the polymer particles through the aqueous phase. The choice of proper solutions of even the most hydrophobic organic molecules can provide the opportunity of their sorption into the polymer particles. Examples to support this idea were given by loading the extremely stiff fluorescent molecule, pentacene, and very hydrophobic dye, Sudan IV, into the polymer particles. Finally, the first application of RAFT at room temperature heterophase polymerization is reported. The results show that the RAFT process is effective at ambient temperature; however, the rate of fragmentation is significantly slower. The elevation of the reaction temperature in the presence of the RAFT agent resulted in faster polymerization and higher molar mass, suggesting that the fragmentation rate coefficient and its dependence on the temperature is responsible for the observed retardation.
This work describes the synthesis and characterization of stimuli-responsive polymers made by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization and the investigation of their self-assembly into “smart” hydrogels. In particular the hydrogels were designed to swell at low temperature and could be reversibly switched to a collapsed hydrophobic state by rising the temperature. Starting from two constituents, a short permanently hydrophobic polystyrene (PS) block and a thermo-responsive poly(methoxy diethylene glycol acrylate) (PMDEGA) block, various gelation behaviors and switching temperatures were achieved. New RAFT agents bearing tert-butyl benzoate or benzoic acid groups, were developed for the synthesis of diblock, symmetrical triblock and 3-arm star block copolymers. Thus, specific end groups were attached to the polymers that facilitate efficient macromolecular characterization, e.g by routine 1H-NMR spectroscopy. Further, the carboxyl end-groups allowed functionalizing the various polymers by a fluorophore. Because reports on PMDEGA have been extremely rare, at first, the thermo-responsive behavior of the polymer was investigated and the influence of factors such as molar mass, nature of the end-groups, and architecture, was studied. The use of special RAFT agents enabled the design of polymer with specific hydrophobic and hydrophilic end-groups. Cloud points (CP) of the polymers proved to be sensitive to all molecular variables studied, namely molar mass, nature and number of the end-groups, up to relatively high molar masses. Thus, by changing molecular parameters, CPs of the PMDEGA could be easily adjusted within the physiological interesting range of 20 to 40°C. A second responsivity, namely to light, was added to the PMDEGA system via random copolymerization of MDEGA with a specifically designed photo-switchable azobenzene acrylate. The composition of the copolymers was varied in order to determine the optimal conditions for an isothermal cloud point variation triggered by light. Though reversible light-induced solubility changes were achieved, the differences between the cloud points before and after the irradiation were small. Remarkably, the response to light differed from common observations for azobenzene-based systems, as CPs decreased after UV-irradiation, i.e with increasing content of cis-azobenzene units. The viscosifying and gelling abilities of the various block copolymers made from PS and PMDEGA blocks were studied by rheology. Important differences were observed between diblock copolymers, containing one hydrophobic PS block only, the telechelic symmetrical triblock copolymers made of two associating PS termini, and the star block copolymers having three associating end blocks. Regardless of their hydrophilic block length, diblock copolymers PS11 PMDEGAn were freely flowing even at concentrations as high as 40 wt. %. In contrast, all studied symmetrical triblock copolymers PS8-PMDEGAn-PS8 formed gels at low temperatures and at concentrations as low as 3.5 wt. % at best. When heated, these gels underwent a gel-sol transition at intermediate temperatures, well below the cloud point where phase separation occurs. The gel-sol transition shifted to markedly higher transition temperatures with increasing length of the hydrophilic inner block. This effect increased also with the number of arms, and with the length of the hydrophobic end blocks. The mechanical properties of the gels were significantly altered at the cloud point and liquid-like dispersions were formed. These could be reversibly transformed into hydrogels by cooling. This thesis demonstrates that high molar mass PMDEGA is an easily accessible, presumably also biocompatible and at ambient temperature well water-soluble, non-ionic thermo-responsive polymer. PMDEGA can be easily molecularly engineered via the RAFT method, implementing defined end-groups, and producing different, also complex, architectures, such as amphiphilic triblock and star block copolymers, having an analogous structure to associative telechelics. With appropriate design, such amphiphilic copolymers give way to efficient, “smart” viscosifiers and gelators displaying tunable gelling and mechanical properties.
New chain transfer agents based on dithiobenzoate and trithiocarbonate for free radical polymerization via Reversible Addition-Fragmentation chain Transfer (RAFT) were synthesized. The new compounds bear permanently hydrophilic sulfonate moieties which provide solubility in water independent of the pH. One of them bears a fluorophore, enabling unsymmetrical double end group labelling as well as the preparation of fluorescent labeled polymers. Their stability against hydrolysis in water was studied, and compared with the most frequently employed water-soluble RAFT agent 4-cyano-4-thiobenzoylsulfanylpentanoic acid dithiobenzoate, using UV-Vis and 1H-NMR spectroscopy. An improved resistance to hydrolysis was found for the new RAFT agents, providing good stabilities in the pH range between 1 and 8, and up to temperatures of 70°C. Subsequently, a series of non-ionic, anionic and cationic water-soluble monomers were polymerized via RAFT in water. In these experiments, polymerizations were conducted either at 48°C or 55°C, that are lower than the conventionally employed temperatures (>60°C) for RAFT in organic solvents, in order to minimize hydrolysis of the active chain ends (e.g. dithioester and trithiocarbonate), and thus to obtain good control over the polymerization. Under these conditions, controlled polymerization in aqueous solution was possible with styrenic, acrylic and methacrylic monomers: molar masses increase with conversion, polydispersities are low, and the degree of end group functionalization is high. But polymerizations of methacrylamides were slow at temperatures below 60°C, and showed only moderate control. The RAFT process in water was also proved to be a powerful method to synthesize di- and triblock copolymers including the preparation of functional polymers with complex structure, such as amphiphilic and stimuli-sensitive block copolymers. These include polymers containing one or even two stimuli-sensitive hydrophilic blocks. The hydrophilic character of a single or of several blocks was switched by changing the pH, the temperature or the salt content, to demonstrate the variability of the molecular designs suited for stimuli-sensitive polymeric amphiphiles, and to exemplify the concept of multiple-sensitive systems. Furthermore, stable colloidal block ionomer complexes were prepared by mixing anionic surfactants in aqueous media with a double hydrophilic block copolymer synthesized via RAFT in water. The block copolymer is composed of a noncharged hydrophilic block based on polyethyleneglycol and a cationic block. The complexes prepared with perfluoro decanoate were found so stable that they even withstand dialysis; notably they do not denaturate proteins. So, they are potentially useful for biomedical applications in vivo.
During the last decades, therapeutical proteins have risen to great significance in the pharmaceutical industry. As non-human proteins that are introduced into the human body cause a distinct immune system reaction that triggers their rapid clearance, most newly approved protein pharmaceuticals are shielded by modification with synthetic polymers to significantly improve their blood circulation time. All such clinically approved protein-polymer conjugates contain polyethylene glycol (PEG) and its conjugation is denoted as PEGylation. However, many patients develop anti-PEG antibodies which cause a rapid clearance of PEGylated molecules upon repeated administration. Therefore, the search for alternative polymers that can replace PEG in therapeutic applications has become important. In addition, although the blood circulation time is significantly prolonged, the therapeutic activity of some conjugates is decreased compared to the unmodified protein. The reason is that these conjugates are formed by the traditional conjugation method that addresses the protein's lysine side chains. As proteins have many solvent exposed lysines, this results in a somewhat uncontrolled attachment of polymer chains, leading to a mixture of regioisomers, with some of them eventually affecting the therapeutic performance.
This thesis investigates a novel method for ligating macromolecules in a site-specific manner, using enzymatic catalysis. Sortase A is used as the enzyme: It is a well-studied transpeptidase which is able to catalyze the intermolecular ligation of two peptides. This process is commonly referred to as sortase-mediated ligation (SML). SML constitutes an equilibrium reaction, which limits product yield. Two previously reported methods to overcome this major limitation were tested with polymers without using an excessive amount of one reactant.
Specific C- or N-terminal peptide sequences (recognition sequence and nucleophile) as part of the protein are required for SML. The complementary peptide was located at the polymer chain end. Grafting-to was used to avoid damaging the protein during polymerization. To be able to investigate all possible combinations (protein-recognition sequence and nucleophile-protein as well as polymer-recognition sequence and nucleophile-polymer) all necessary building blocks were synthesized. Polymerization via reversible deactivation radical polymerization (RDRP) was used to achieve a narrow molecular weight distribution of the polymers, which is required for therapeutic use.
The synthesis of the polymeric building blocks was started by synthesizing the peptide via automated solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) to avoid post-polymerization attachment and to enable easy adaptation of changes in the peptide sequence. To account for the different functionalities (free N- or C-terminus) required for SML, different linker molecules between resin and peptide were used.
To facilitate purification, the chain transfer agent (CTA) for reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization was coupled to the resin-immobilized recognition sequence peptide. The acrylamide and acrylate-based monomers used in this thesis were chosen for their potential to replace PEG.
Following that, surface-initiated (SI) ATRP and RAFT polymerization were attempted, but failed. As a result, the newly developed method of xanthate-supported photo-iniferter (XPI) RAFT polymerization in solution was used successfully to obtain a library of various peptide-polymer conjugates with different chain lengths and narrow molar mass distributions.
After peptide side chain deprotection, these constructs were used first to ligate two polymers via SML, which was successful but revealed a limit in polymer chain length (max. 100 repeat units). When utilizing equimolar amounts of reactants, the use of Ni2+ ions in combination with a histidine after the recognition sequence to remove the cleaved peptide from the equilibrium maximized product formation with conversions of up to 70 %.
Finally, a model protein and a nanobody with promising properties for therapeutical use were biotechnologically modified to contain the peptide sequences required for SML. Using the model protein for C- or N-terminal SML with various polymers did not result in protein-polymer conjugates. The reason is most likely the lack of accessibility of the protein termini to the enzyme. Using the nanobody for C-terminal SML, on the other hand, was successful. However, a similar polymer chain length limit was observed as in polymer-polymer SML. Furthermore, in case of the synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates, it was more effective to shift the SML equilibrium by using an excess of polymer than by employing the Ni2+ ion strategy.
Overall, the experimental data from this work provides a good foundation for future research in this promising field; however, more research is required to fully understand the potential and limitations of using SML for protein-polymer synthesis. In future, the method explored in this dissertation could prove to be a very versatile pathway to obtain therapeutic protein-polymer conjugates that exhibit high activities and long blood circulation times.
An amphiphilic linear ternary block copolymer was synthesised in three consecutive steps via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerisation. Oligo(ethylene glycol) monomethyl ether acrylate was engaged as a hydrophilic building block, while benzyl acrylate and 3-tris(trimethylsiloxy)silyl propyl acrylate served as hydrophobic building blocks. The resulting "triphilic" copolymer consists thus of a hydrophilic (A) and two mutually incompatible "soft" hydrophobic blocks, namely, a lipophilic (B) and a silicone-based (C) block, with all blocks having glass transition temperatures well below 0 A degrees C. The triphilic copolymer self-assembles into spherical multicompartment micellar aggregates in aqueous solution, where the two hydrophobic blocks undergo local phase separation into various ultrastructures as evidenced by cryogenic transmission electron microscopy. Thus, a silicone-based polymer block can replace the hitherto typically employed fluorocarbon-based hydrophobic blocks in triphilic block copolymers for inducing multicompartmentalisation.
In this work new fluorinated and non-fluorinated mono- and bifunctional trithiocarbonates of the structure Z-C(=S)-S-R and Z-C(=S)-S-R-S-C(=S)-Z were synthesized for the use as chain transfer agents (CTAs) in the RAFT-process. All newly synthesized CTAs were tested for their efficiency to moderate the free radical polymerization process by polymerizing styrene (M3). Besides characterization of the homopolymers by GPC measurements, end- group analysis of the synthesized block copolymers via 1H-, 19F-NMR, and in some cases also UV-vis spectroscopy, were performed attaching suitable fluorinated moieties to the Z- and/or R-groups of the CTAs. Symmetric triblock copolymers of type BAB and non-symmetric fluorine end- capped polymers were accessible using the RAFT process in just two or one polymerization step. In particular, the RAFT-process enabled the controlled polymerization of hydrophilic monomers such as N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM) (M1) as well as N-acryloylpyrrolidine (NAP) (M2) for the A-blocks and of the hydrophobic monomers styrene (M3), 2-fluorostyrene (M4), 3-fluorostyrene (M5), 4-fluorostyrene (M6) and 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene (M7) for the B-blocks. The properties of the BAB-triblock copolymers were investigated in dilute, concentrated and highly concentrated aqueous solutions using DLS, turbidimetry, 1H- and 19F-NMR, rheology, determination of the CMC, foam height- and surface tension measurements and microscopy. Furthermore, their ability to stabilize emulsions and microemulsions and the wetting behaviour of their aqueous solutions on different substrates was investigated. The behaviour of the fluorine end-functionalized polymers to form micelles was studied applying DLS measurements in diluted organic solution. All investigated BAB-triblock copolymers were able to form micelles and show surface activity at room temperature in dilute aqueous solution. The aqueous solutions displayed moderate foam formation. With different types and concentrations of oils, the formation of emulsions could be detected using a light microscope. A boosting effect in microemulsions could not be found adding BAB-triblock copolymers. At elevated polymer concentrations, the formation of hydrogels was proved applying rheology measurements.