Title:
Hierarchical Smectic Self-Assembly of an ABC Miktoarm Star Terpolymer with a Helical Polypeptide Arm
Languages of Item:
English
Abstract:
We demonstrate the first hierarchical smectic self-assembly in miktoarm star terpolymers, using a polymer/polypeptide hybrid (macromolecular chimera) composed of two coil-like arms (polystyrene, PS, and polyisoprene, PI) and a mesogenic α-helical polypeptide arm (poly(ε-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-l- lysine), PBLL). The PBLL α-helices are packed within lamellar nanodomains which leads to an overall smectic alteration of rod- and coil-containing layers typically observed in rod-coil block copolymers. Furthermore, the coil-containing lamellae have an inner structure composed of PS and PI rectangular cylinders, leading to what we call a hierarchical smectic phase. To elucidate the role of polypeptide helices in directing the self-assembly, the ordering is studied both after thermal annealing and after quick drop-casting from chloroform solution. The possibility to combine mesogen packing, tiling patterns, and conformational control of polypeptide blocks makes self-assembled hierarchies of star-shaped macromolecular chimeras appealing for future studies. © 2010 American Chemical Society.
Authors:
Susanna Junnila
Nikolay Houbenov
Sirkku Hanski
Hermis Iatrou
Akira Hirao
Nikos Hadjichristidis
Olli Ikkala
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Keywords:
Chloroform solutions; Conformational control; Drop-casting; Helical polypeptides; Inner structure; l-Lysine; Mesogenes; Mesogenics; Nano domain; Polypeptide blocks; Polypeptide helices; Rectangular cylinder; Rod-coil block copolymer; Self-assembled; Smectic phase; Star terpolymers; Thermal-annealing, Amino acids; Block copolymers; Macromolecules; Polystyrenes; Self assembly; Terpolymers, Polypeptides
Main subject category:
Science
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