Preparation of diblock amphiphilic polypeptide nanoparticles for medical applications

Abstract

We reported a series of diblock amphiphilic copolypeptides consisting of polylysine and phenylalanine that could self-assemble into different kinds of nanoparticles according to the length ratio of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic chains. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) confirmed the self-assembled structure of the diblock amphiphilic copolypeptides. The copolypeptides could self-assemble into rodlike micelles, vesicles, and wormlike vesicles due to different ratios of the hydrophobic and hydrophilic chains. The critical vesicle formation concentration (CVC), DOX loading and in vitro release were also studied. These antibacterial peptide nanoparticles are promising candidate for biomedical application, and they can inhibit bacterial infection simultaneously.