Herein, we report the photoinitiated polymerizationinduced self-assembly (photo-PISA) of spherical micelles consisting of proapoptotic peptide-polymer amphiphiles. The one-pot synthetic approach yielded micellar nanoparticles at high concentrations and at scale (150 mg mL À1) with tunable peptide loadings up to 48 wt. %. The size of the micellar nanoparticles was tuned by varying the lengths of hydrophobic and hydrophilic building blocks. Critically, the peptide-functionalized nanoparticles imbued the proapoptotic "KLA" peptides (amino acid sequence: KLAKLAKKLAKLAK) with two key properties otherwise not inherent to the sequence: 1) proteolytic resistance compared to the oligopeptide alone; 2) significantly enhanced cell uptake by multivalent display of KLA peptide brushes. The result was demonstrated improved apoptosis efficiency in HeLa cells. These results highlight the potential of photo-PISA in the large-scale synthesis of functional, proteolytically resistant peptide-polymer conjugates for intracellular delivery.

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We report the synthesis of a degradable polyphosphoramidate via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) with the Grubbs initiator (IMesH 2 )(C 5 H 5 N) 2 (Cl) 2 RuCHPh. Controlled ROMP of a low ring strain diazaphosphepine-based cyclic olefin was achieved at low temperatures to afford well-defined polymers that readily undergo degradation in acidic conditions via the cleavage of the acid-labile phosphoramidate linkages. The diazaphosphepine monomer was compatible in random and block copolymerizations with phenyl and oligo(ethylene glycol) bearing norbornenes. This approach introduced partial or complete degradability into the polymer backbones. With this chemistry, we accessed amphiphilic poly(diazaphosphepine-norbornene) copolymers that could be used to prepare micellar nanoparticles.

along with locally applied materials have been developed to respond to biological signals for safer and more efficacious therapeutics delivery.At the small molecule level, the concept of programmable functional groups has been exploited for many years in the form of simple prodrugs. With this approach, drugs are chemically modified to inactive forms and then undergo programmed enzymatic or chemical transformations as a response to metabolic or physical and chemical signals to expose the active functionalities at the target site in vivo. [1] This strategy often enhances the solubility, reduces the toxicity and improves the bioavailability of the parent drug. [1] As an example, sulfasalazine, a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug, relies on bacterial metabolism in the colon to cleave the azo linkage and release the active sulfapyridine and 5-aminosalicylic acid. [2] This concept has been more recently adapted at the nano-and micrometer scale in the development of more complex materials. The resulting programmable responsive systems are a class of materials capable of dynamic transitions and function as a response to one or multiple triggers. While many materials have been designed to respond to exogenous, or applied stimuli such as light, ultrasound, and magnetic fields, [3] or to intracellular low pH or reductive environments, [3a,b,4] responsive nanomedicine and materials that are able to recognize signals associated with specific disease states remain relatively underdeveloped. Such approaches offer extraordinary opportunities for reducing off-target effects and enhancing therapeutic indices. In the development of pathologies, diseased tissues exhibit specific biological features, which can be classified as physical, chemical, and biomolecular differentiators that are associated with the disease state. Common disease-associated physical cues include changes in pressure (shear force) [5] and permeability. [6] Chemical hallmarks can involve changes in pH and redox state. [7] Biomolecular features can be extracellular (upregulated enzymes and biomolecule production) [8] and intracellular (adenosine triphosphate and nucleic acids, among others). [9] Such markers help to differentiate diseased from healthy tissues and are useful in the design of diseasetargeted programmable materials.Recent advances in polymer chemistry, materials sciences, and biotechnology have allowed the preclinical development of sophisticated programmable nanomedicines and materials that are able to precisely respond to specific disease-associated triggers and microenvironments. These stimuli, endogenous to the targeted diseases, include pH, redox-state, small molecules, and protein upregulation. Herein, recent advances and innovative approaches in programmable soft materials capable of sensing the aforementioned disease-associated stimuli and responding via a range of dynamic processes including morphological and size transitions, changes in mobility and retention, as well as disassembly are described. In this field generally, the majority...

Herein, we report the photoinitiated polymerizationinduced self-assembly (photo-PISA) of spherical micelles consisting of proapoptotic peptide-polymer amphiphiles.T he one-pot synthetic approachy ielded micellar nanoparticles at high concentrations and at scale (150 mg mL À1)w ith tunable peptide loadings up to 48 wt. %. The size of the micellar nanoparticles was tuned by varying the lengths of hydrophobic and hydrophilic building blocks.C ritically,t he peptide-functionalized nanoparticles imbued the proapoptotic "KLA" peptides (amino acid sequence:KLAKLAKKLAKLAK) with two key properties otherwise not inherent to the sequence: 1) proteolytic resistance compared to the oligopeptide alone; 2) significantly enhanced cell uptake by multivalent displayof KLA peptide brushes.T he result was demonstrated improved apoptosis efficiency in HeLa cells.T hese results highlight the potential of photo-PISA in the large-scale synthesis of functional, proteolytically resistant peptide-polymer conjugates for intracellular delivery.