Molecular exchange kinetics of coacervates consisting of antimicrobial peptides and block copolymers monitored by TR-SANS

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are not yet readily suitable for systemic delivery in therapeutic applications, as they have low retainability, are degraded, and are cytotoxic. This project aims to find and define systems to effectively encapsulate AMPs with block copolymers, through complex coacervation, to reduce the side effects of AMP treatment. In complex coacervation, controlled phase separation is induced by interactions between oppositely charged macromolecules. In the proposed experiment we aim to understand the stability of these nanoparticles by studying the molecular exchange kinetics. In this way, by determining the rate of which the molecules move in and out of the assemblies, we can correlate the effective exposure of the peptides with biological activity.