0000000000496864
AUTHOR
Christian Muhl
showing 22 related works from this author
Rethinking Cysteine Protective Groups:S-Alkylsulfonyl-l-Cysteines for Chemoselective Disulfide Formation
2016
The ability to reversibly cross-link proteins and peptides grants the amino acid cysteine its unique role in nature as well as in peptide chemistry. We report a novel class of S-alkylsulfonyl-l-cysteines and N-carboxy anhydrides (NCA) thereof for peptide synthesis. The S-alkylsulfonyl group is stable against amines and thus enables its use under Fmoc chemistry conditions and the controlled polymerization of the corresponding NCAs yielding well-defined homo- as well as block co-polymers. Yet, thiols react immediately with the S-alkylsulfonyl group forming asymmetric disulfides. Therefore, we introduce the first reactive cysteine derivative for efficient and chemoselective disulfide formation…
Poly(sarcosine) surface modification imparts stealth-like properties to liposomes
2019
Circulation lifetime is a crucial parameter for a successful therapy with nanoparticles. Reduction and alteration of opsonization profiles by surface modification of nanoparticles is the main strategy to achieve this objective. In clinical settings, PEGylation is the most relevant strategy to enhance blood circulation, yet it has drawbacks, including hypersensitivity reactions in some patients treated with PEGylated nanoparticles, which fuel the search for alternative strategies. In this work, lipopolysarcosine derivatives (BA-pSar, bisalkyl polysarcosine) with precise chain lengths and low polydispersity indices are synthesized, characterized, and incorporated into the bilayer of preformed…
Insight into the synthesis of N-methylated polypeptides
2020
The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of N-carboxy anhydrides (NCAs) is mostly divided into two classes: NCAs of α-substituted amino acids and N-methylated NCAs of α-unsubstituted glycine derivatives (NNCAs). The use of both monomer types offers different mechanistic features and results in a multitude of functional materials. To combine these properties, the synthesis and ROP of α-substituted and N-methylated NCAs (αNNCAs) of several amino acids were investigated. The current study provides insight into the influence of polymerization conditions and the limitations caused by the enhanced steric demand of the amino acid NCA monomers and their N-methylated derivatives. Namely, the effects of…
Thermodynamics and Kinetics of the Interactions Between Proteins and Hydrophilic Polymers
2021
Hydrophilic polymers are being investigated as possible coating agents for therapeutic nanoparticles because of their capacity to reduce immune response and increase circulation life time. The mechanism of action of these coatings is not well understood although it is clear that they unspecifically reduce the amount of proteins adsorbing on the nanoparticle surface coming in contact with biological fluids. Here we have investigated, using state-of-the-art atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, the equilibrium and kinetic properties of the interactions forming between human serum albumin, the most abundant protein in the blood stream, and two different and promising polymers poly(ethylene…
Synthesis and characterization of bisalkylated polysarcosine-based lipopolymers
2019
The use of PEGylated lipids for the synthesis of stealth liposomes and lipid formulations for nucleic acid delivery has promoted the development of nanoparticle based drugs for cancer therapy, and chronic diseases. Moreover, several other nanomedicines based on these materials have advanced into clinical trails. This enormous success, however, has recently been compromised by the occurrence of immune responses towards PEG, which render pharmacokinetics and can substantially reduce the therapeutic efficiency of drugs. Therefore, alternatives for PEGylated lipids with comparable or even identical solution properties are required. In this work, we report the synthesis of polysarcosine based li…
Poly(S-ethylsulfonyl-l-homocysteine): An α-Helical Polypeptide for Chemoselective Disulfide Formation
2018
Homocysteine and cysteine are the only natural occurring amino acids that are capable of disulfide bond formations in peptides and proteins. The chemoselective formation of asymmetric disulfide bonds, however, is chemically challenging and requires an activating group combining stability against hard nucleophiles, e.g., amines, with reactivity toward thiols and soft nucleophiles. In light of these considerations, we introduced the S-alkylsulfonyl cysteines in our previous work. Here, we present the synthesis and ring-opening polymerization of S-ethylsulfonyl-l-homocysteine N-carboxyanhydrides. We demonstrate that the polymerization leads to narrowly distributed polypeptides (Đ = 1.1–1.3) wi…
Secondary Structure-Driven Self-Assembly of Thiol-Reactive Polypept(o)ides
2021
Secondary structure formation differentiates polypeptides from most of the other synthetic polymers, and the transitions from random coils to rod-like α-helices or β-sheets represent an additional parameter to direct self-assembly and the morphology of nanostructures. We investigated the influence of distinct secondary structures on the self-assembly of reactive amphiphilic polypept(o)ides. The individual morphologies can be preserved by core cross-linking via chemoselective disulfide bond formation. A series of thiol-responsive copolymers of racemic polysarcosine-block-poly(S-ethylsulfonyl-dl-cysteine) (pSar-b-p(dl)Cys), enantiopure polysarcosine-block-poly(S-ethylsulfonyl-l-cysteine) (pSa…
Investigation of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides by X-ray diffraction for controlled ring-opening polymerization
2019
Abstract The need for a scalable synthesis of not sequence defined polypeptides as biomaterials is met by the ring-opening polymerization of α-amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). Even though this polymerization technique appears straight forward, it holds pitfalls in terms of reproducibility and overall control over the polymerization conditions, which depends, beside choice of solvent or initiator, significantly on reagent purity. In addition, the synthesis of monomers can lead to the formation of racemic amino acids. Thus, in this work, we describe the benefits of highly pure monomers in order to control nucleophilic ring-opening polymerization NCAs. Hereby, monomer purity is investiga…
Racemic S ‐(ethylsulfonyl)‐ dl ‐cysteine N ‐Carboxyanhydrides Improve Chain Lengths and Monomer Conversion for β‐Sheet‐Controlled Ring‐Opening Polyme…
2020
The secondary structure formation of polypeptides not only governs folding and solution self-assembly but also affects the nucleophilic ring-opening polymerization of alpha-amino acid-N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). Whereby helical structures are known to enhance polymerization rates, beta-sheet-like assemblies reduce the propagation rate or may even terminate chain growth by precipitation or gelation. To overcome these unfavorable properties, racemic mixtures of NCAs can be applied. In this work, racemicS-(ethylsulfonyl)-dl-cysteine NCA is investigated for the synthesis of polypeptides, diblock and triblock copolypept(o)ides. In contrast to the polymerization of stereoregularS-(ethylsulfonyl)-…
Interactions Between Blood Proteins and Nanoparticles Investigated Using Molecular Dynamics Simulations
2019
In the development of new therapeutic agents based on nanoparticles it is of fundamental importance understanding how these substances interact with the underlying biological milieu. Our research is focussed on simulating in silico these interactions using accurate atomistic models, and gather from these information general pictures and simplified models of the underlying phenomena. Here we report results about the interactions of blood proteins with promising hydrophilic polymers used for the coating of therapeutic nanoparticles, about the salt dependent behavior of one of these polymers (poly-(ethylene glycol)) and about the interactions of blood proteins with silica, one of the most used…
Poly-sarcosine and poly(ethylene-glycol) interactions with proteins investigated using molecular dynamics simulations
2018
Nanoparticles coated with hydrophilic polymers often show a reduction in unspecific interactions with the biological environment, which improves their biocompatibility. The molecular determinants of this reduction are not very well understood yet, and their knowledge may help improving nanoparticle design. Here we address, using molecular dynamics simulations, the interactions of human serum albumin, the most abundant serum protein, with two promising hydrophilic polymers used for the coating of therapeutic nanoparticles, poly(ethylene-glycol) and poly-sarcosine. By simulating the protein immersed in a polymer-water mixture, we show that the two polymers have a very similar affinity for the…
CCDC 1874607: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2019
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, Dieter Schollmeyer, Alexander Birke, Regina Holm, Kerstin Johann, Christian Muhl, Christine Seidl, Benjamin Weber, Matthias Barz|2019|Tetrahedron Lett.|60|272|doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2018.12.028
CCDC 1874606: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2019
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, Dieter Schollmeyer, Alexander Birke, Regina Holm, Kerstin Johann, Christian Muhl, Christine Seidl, Benjamin Weber, Matthias Barz|2019|Tetrahedron Lett.|60|272|doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2018.12.028
CCDC 1858028: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2018
Related Article: Christian Muhl, Olga Schäfer, Tobias Bauer, Hans-Joachim Räder, Matthias Barz|2018|Macromolecules|51|8188|doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01442
CCDC 1440862: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2017
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, David Huesmann, Christian Muhl, Matthias Barz|2016|Chem.-Eur.J.|22|18085|doi:10.1002/chem.201604391
CCDC 1976456: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2020
Related Article: Christian Muhl, Lydia Zengerling, Jonathan Groß, Paul Eckhardt, Till Opatz, Pol Besenius, Matthias Barz|2020|Polym.Chem.|11|6919|doi:10.1039/D0PY01055C
CCDC 1858027: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2018
Related Article: Christian Muhl, Olga Schäfer, Tobias Bauer, Hans-Joachim Räder, Matthias Barz|2018|Macromolecules|51|8188|doi:10.1021/acs.macromol.8b01442
CCDC 1440861: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2017
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, David Huesmann, Christian Muhl, Matthias Barz|2016|Chem.-Eur.J.|22|18085|doi:10.1002/chem.201604391
CCDC 1874603: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2019
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, Dieter Schollmeyer, Alexander Birke, Regina Holm, Kerstin Johann, Christian Muhl, Christine Seidl, Benjamin Weber, Matthias Barz|2019|Tetrahedron Lett.|60|272|doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2018.12.028
CCDC 1874604: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2019
Related Article: Olga Schäfer, Dieter Schollmeyer, Alexander Birke, Regina Holm, Kerstin Johann, Christian Muhl, Christine Seidl, Benjamin Weber, Matthias Barz|2019|Tetrahedron Lett.|60|272|doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2018.12.028
CCDC 1976455: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2020
Related Article: Christian Muhl, Lydia Zengerling, Jonathan Groß, Paul Eckhardt, Till Opatz, Pol Besenius, Matthias Barz|2020|Polym.Chem.|11|6919|doi:10.1039/D0PY01055C
CCDC 2002425: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination
2021
Related Article: Tobias Bauer, Christian Muhl, Dieter Schollmeyer, Matthias Barz|2020|Macromol.Rapid Commun.||2000470|doi:10.1002/marc.202000470