Santa Clara University

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is pleased to host Dr. Daniel A. Savin, Assistant Professor of Plymer Science and Engineering, in the School of Polymers and High Performance Materials, from the University of Southern Mississippi and his talk on "Polypetide-based Block Copolymers-Towards pH, T and "Schizophrenic" Responsiveness in Micelles and Vesicles"  

Block copolymers are materials containing two distinct polymer segments covalently attached.  When the two blocks are not miscible with one another, they self-assemble into well-defined nanostructures such as micelles, vesicles, liquid crystals and organogels.  The present studies focus on the aqueous self-assembly of polypeptide-based block copolymers that are responsive to solution conditions due to secondary structure transitions within the polypeptide chain.  In particular, poly(propylene oxide)-poly(lysine) (PPO-PK) block copolymers self-assemble into temperature and pH-responsive structures, and we can drive a reversible ‘schizophrenic’ (inside-out) assembly of PPO-PK micelles.  These nanostructures are characterized using light scattering, circular dichroism and transmission electron microscopy.  I will also present the use of thiol-alkyne ‘click’ chemistry in the formation of peptide lipid-mimetic materials.

Place: Alumni Science 120
Date: Friday, March 12, 2010
Time: 4-5 pm