Project Details
Projekt
Selbstorganisation von Nanopartikeln an der Grenzfläche von gemischten Lipid/Polymer-Membranen und Polymersomen
Applicant
Professor Dr. Wolfgang Binder
Subject Area
Experimental and Theoretical Physics of Polymers
Term
from 2010 to 2020
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 80053741
The project deals with the synthesis of triphilic blockcopolymers and their self-assembly in mixed lipid/polymer bilayer membranes, with a focus on controlling the domain-sizes in such mixed membranes as well as the introduction of biologically significant folding-parts. The conformation of the polymer chains together with the polymers hydrophobicity will be controlled by linkage with an artificial folding element (the so called beta-turn), which – together with a hydrogen bond – will lead to a conformational restriction of the two, incompatible polymerchains. The blockcopolymer will consist of poly(isobutylene) as hydrophobic part, and either a fluorophilic poly(oxazoline) or a helical poly(isocyanide) or poly(isocyanate), linked via a lowmolecular (nonpeptidic) beta-turn element, so as to enable the “folding” of both incompatible polymerchains into a lipid-bilayer membrane. The polymers will be synthesized via living polymerization living (ring-opening) carbocationic polymerization or via the living polymerization of isocyanides/isocyanates, the beta-turn-folding element will be introduced via azide/alkyne-“click”-chemistry. Subsequently, the self-assembly of these blockcopolymers in mixed lipid/polymer bilayer-membranes as well as monolayer membranes to control and influence the domain sizes will be investigated, most of all via confocal-laser-microscopy (CFLM). In order to achieve a switchable behavior of self-assembly behavior, a switchable beta-turn element will be introduced, thus allowing to modulate the domain-sizes in mixed lipid/polymer bilayer membranes via external stimuli.
DFG Programme
Research Units
