Preparation of defined and functional polymers has been one of the hottest topics in polymer science and drug delivery in the recent decade. Also, research on (bio)degradable polymers gains more and more interest, in particular at the interface of these two disciplines. However, in the majority of cases, combination of definition, functionality and degradability, is problematic. Here we present the preparation and characterization (MALDI–ToF MS, NMR, GPC) of nonionic hydrophilic, hydrophobic, and amphiphilic N-substituted polyglycines (polypeptoids), which are expected to be main-chain degradable and are able to disperse a hydrophobic model compound in aqueous media. Polymerization kinetics suggest that the polymerization is well controlled with strictly linear pseudo first-order kinetic plots to high monomer consumption. Moreover, molar mass distributions of products are Poisson-type and molar mass can be controlled by the monomer to initiator ratio. The presented polymer platform is nonionic, backbone degradable, and synthetically highly flexible and may therefore be valuable for a broad range of applications, in particular as a biomaterial.

The design of drug delivery systems capable of efficiently delivering poorly soluble drugs to target sites still remains a major challenge. Such materials require several different functionalities; typically, these materials should be biodegradable and nontoxic, non-immunogenic, responsive to their environment, and soluble in aqueous solution while retaining the ability to solubilize hydrophobic drugs. Here, we report on a polypeptide-polymer hybrid of elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) and poly(2-oxazoline)s (POx). This paper describes the chemical synthesis, physical characteristics, and drug loading potential of these novel hybrid macromolecules. To this end, we introduce a novel method for terminal functionalization of POx with protected maleimide moieties. Following recovery of the maleimide group via a retro Diels-Alder reaction, the consecutive Michael addition of thiol-functionalized ELPs yielded the desired protein-polymer conjugate. These conjugates formed nanoparticles in aqueous solution capable of solubilizing the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel with up to 8 wt% loading.

Back Cover: Defined poly(2‐oxazoline)s (POx) bearing a maleimide terminal function was conjugated with hydrophilic elastin‐like polypeptides (ELP) in a straightforward Michael‐addition reaction. The first example to use the amphiphilic POx‐ELP hybrids as a polymer therapeutic by the formulation of a hydrophobic anti‐cancer drug (paclitaxel) is shown. Further details can be found in the article by J. F. Nawroth, J. R. McDaniel, A. Chilkoti, R. Jordan, R. Luxenhofer on page 322.

A self-assembled monolayer of perflourinated silanes is used to prepare nanopatterned polymer brushes and brush gradients by focused electron beam reactive writing (RW) and surface-initiated photopolymerization of vinyl monomers.