Tailored Polymeric Membranes for Mycobacterium Smegmatis Porin A (MspA) Based Biosensors.

Nanopores based on protein channels inserted into lipid membranes have paved the way towards a wide-range of inexpensive biosensors, especially for DNA sequencing. A key obstacle in using these biological ion channels as nanodevices is the poor stability of lipid bilayer membranes. Amphiphilic block copolymer membranes have emerged as a robust alternative to lipid membranes.

Rapid Metal -free Macromolecular Coupling via in situ Nitrile Oxide-Activated Alkene Cycloaddition.

Nitrile oxide 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition is a simple and powerful coupling methodology. However, the self-dimerization of nitrile oxides has prevented the widespread use of this strategy for macromolecular coupling. By combining an in situ nitrile oxide generation with a highly reactive activated dipolarophile, we have overcome these obstacles and present a metal-free macromolecular coupling strategy for the modular synthesis of several ABA triblock copolymers.

Stealth polymeric vesicles via metal-free click coupling.

The strain-promoted azide-alkyne cycloaddition represents an optimal metal-free method for the modular coupling of amphiphilic polymer blocks. Hydrophilic poly(oxazoline) (PMOXA) or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) A-blocks were coupled with a hydrophobic poly(siloxane) B-block to provide triblock copolymers capable of self-assembling into vesicular nanostructures. Stealth properties investigated via a complement activation assay revealed the superior in vitro stealth attributes of polymeric vesicles synthesized via a metal-free approach to those coupled via the widely used copper-catalyzed click method.

Clickable Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymers.

Amphiphilic polymers have recently garnered much attention due to their potential use in drug-delivery and other biomedical applications. A modular synthesis of these polymers is extremely desirable since it offers precise individual block characterization and increased yields. We present here for the first time a modular synthesis of poly(oxazoline)-poly(siloxane)-poly(oxazoline) block copolymers that have been clicked together using the copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction.