Synthesis and micellization behavior of chiral amphiphilic diblock copolymers bearing amino acid/dipeptide pendants

Novel chiral amphiphilic diblock copolymers bearing l-phenylalanine or α-l-aspartyl-l-phenylalanine methyl ester pendants were synthesized using a “click” reaction. The structure and composition of copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography, 1H NMR, elemental analysis and optical rotation measurements, which showed that the synthetic route can produce copolymers with well-defined composition and optical activity. The results from surface tension measurements, dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy and 1H NMR spectra indicated that these chiral copolymers formed spherical micelles with an optically active hydrophobic core in a NaH2PO4 buffer (pH 4.5) system.