Summary:
The present study concerns the investigation of a) the aqueous solution
properties and behavior of the synthetic polyelectrolyte sodium
poly((sulfamate-carboxylate)isoprene) (SCPI) and b) the structure and
properties of the micelles formed in aqueous medium, through the self-assembly
of the amphiphilic block copolymers of SCPI with polystyrene (PS) and
poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) (PS-SCPI, PS-SCPI-PEO and SCPI-PS-PEO), as a
function of the molecular characteristics and the macromolecular architecture
of the synthetic polyelectrolytes, along with the solution conditions
(concentration, pH, ionic strength). Furthermore, investigates the complexation
process, and the nanoscopic structure, properties and behavior of the formed
complexes between the SCPI polyelectrolyte and the PS-SCPI, PS-SCPI-PEO and
SCPI-PS-PEO polyelectrolyte micelles and lysozyme (HEWL) protein molecules, as
a function of the ratio of the two components, the pH and ionic strength of the
solution. Dynamic, static and electrophoretic light scattering measurements
revealed the strong influence of the structural characteristics of the SCPI
polyelectrolyte, and the architecture of the polyelectrolyte block copolymers,
on both the solution properties of the polyelectrolyte and the polyelectrolyte
micelles, and the structure, properties and behavior of their complexes with
lysozyme. In all cases, fluorescence, infrared and circular dichroism
spectroscopic studies confirmed the preservation of the protein structure
within the complexes.
Keywords:
Polyelectrolytes, Polyelectrolyte block copolymer micelles, Polyelectrolyte-protein complexes, Solution properties and behavior, light scattering
