Published in Entropy
We attempted to attain atomic-scale insights into the mechanism of the heat-induced phase transition of two thermoresponsive polymers containing amide groups, poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) and poly(2-isopropyl-2-oxazoline) (PIPOZ), and we succeeded in reproducing the existence of lower critical solution temperature (LCST). The simulation d...
Published in Advanced functional materials
Beside pigment absorption and reflection by periodic photonic structures, natural species often use light scattering to achieve whiteness. Synthetic hydrogels offer opportunities in stimuli-responsive materials and devices; however, they are not conventionally considered as ideal materials to achieve high whiteness by scattering due to the ill-defi...
Published in Polymers
The effect of polymer concentration on the temperature-induced self-association of a block copolymer comprising a poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) block and a random copolymer block consisting of 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline and 2- n -propyl-2-oxazoline (PEtO80- block -P(EtOxx- stat -PropO40-x) with x = 0, 4, or 8 were investigated by dynamic light scattering (DLS...
Published in Nanomedicine : nanotechnology, biology, and medicine
Humanin (HN) is a hydrophobic 24-amino acid peptide derived from mitochondrial DNA that modulates cellular responses to oxidative stress and protects human retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells from apoptosis. To solubilize HN, this report describes two genetically-encoded fusions between HN and elastin-like polypeptides (ELP). ELPs provide steric...
Published in Polymers
In this study, we synthesized a random poly[( N -isopropylacrylamide)- co -(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate)- co -( N -methylolacrylamide)] [poly(NIPAAm- co -HEMA- co -NMA)] copolymer through free-radical polymerization. The NIPAAm, HEMA and NMA moieties were framed to provide thermoresponsiveness, water absorption and retention control, and chemical cr...
Poly(N-isopropylmethacrylamide) (PNIPMAM) is a thermoresponsive polymer, exhibiting lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior in an aqueous solution. We investigate the temperature-dependent phase behavior of PNIPMAM solutions in D2O using turbidimetry, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small-angle and very small angle neutron scat...
Published in Biomacromolecules
The identification and use of antibodies dominate the biologic, clinical diagnostic, and therapeutic landscapes. In particular, antibodies have become essential tools in a variety of protein analytical experiments and to study the disposition of biologic therapeutics. One emerging class of peptide biologics is known as the elastin-like polypeptides...
Published in Polymers
For the preparation of thermoresponsive copolymers, for e.g., tissue engineering scaffolds or drug carriers, a precise control of the synthesis parameters to set the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) is required. However, the correlations between molecular parameters and LCST are partially unknown and, furthermore, LCST is defined as an ex...
Published in Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.)
Sandcastle worms have developed protein-based adhesives, which they use to construct protective tubes from sand grains and shell bits. A key element in the adhesive delivery is the formation of a fluidic complex coacervate phase. After delivery, the adhesive transforms into a solid upon an external trigger. In this work, a fully synthetic in situ s...
Published in Polymers
Studies on the end group stability of poly( N -isopropylacrylamide) during the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) process are presented. Polymerization of N -isopropylacrylamide was conducted in different solvents using a copper(I) chloride/Me6Tren catalyst complex. The influence of the ATRP solvent as well as the polymer purification proc...
