Temperature triggered self-assembly of polypeptides into multivalent spherical micelles.

We report herein thermally responsive elastin-like polypeptides (ELPs) in a linear AB diblock architecture with an N-terminal peptide ligand that self-assemble into spherical micelles when heated slightly above body temperature. A series of 10 ELP block copolymers (ELP(BC)'s ) with different molecular weights and hydrophilic-to-hydrophobic block ratios were genetically synthesized by recursive directional ligation. The self-assembly of these polymers from unimers into micelles was investigated by light scattering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cryo-TEM. These ELP(BC)'s undergo two phase transitions as a function of solution temperature: a unimer-to-spherical micelle transition at an interm…