Random Poly(Amino Acid)s Synthesized by Ring Opening Polymerization as Additives in the Biomimetic Mineralization of CaCO3

Polymers

Vladimir Dmitrovic¹  Gijs J.M. Habraken²  Marco M.R.M. Hendrix¹  Wouter J.E.M. Habraken¹  Andreas Heise²  Gijsbertus de With¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Materials and Interface Chemistry and Soft Matter CryoTEM Unit, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands;Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherland;

关键词: biomineralization;    polypeptide;    NCA;    vaterite;    hybrid materials;   

DOI  :  10.3390/polym4021195

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Biominerals such as bones, teeth and seashells, very often have advanced material properties and are a source of inspiration for material chemists. As in biological systems acidic proteins play an important role in regulating the formation of CaCO₃ biominerals, we employ poly(amino acid)s to mimic the processes involved in the laboratory. Here we report on the synthesis of random aminoacid copolymers of glutamic acid (Glu), lysine (Lys) and alanine (Ala) using the ring opening polymerization (ROP) of their respective N-carboxy anhydrides (NCA). The synthetic approach yields a series of polymers with different monomer composition but with similar degrees of polymerization (DP 45–56) and comparable polydispersities (PDI 1.2–1.6). Using random copolymers we can investigate the influence of composition on the activity of the polymers without having to take into account the effects of secondary structure or specific sequences. We show that variation of the Glu content of the polymer chains affects the nucleation and thereby also the particle size. Moreover, it is shown that the polymers with the highest Glu content affect the kinetics of mineral formation such that the first precipitate is more soluble than in the case of the control.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.