Microstructure of poly-L-lysine (PLL) single chain nanoparticles: The role of the precursor conformation

Polypeptide single chain nanoparticles (SCNPs) have enormous potential in biomedical applications due to their biocompatibility and low immunogenicity. Among the homo-polypeptides, polylyisine has established applications on gene delivery that would benefit from the morphology provided by SCNPs. However, it is challenging to form SCNPs from a weak polyelectrolyte because its rigidity prevents chain collapse upon cross-linking. Thus, it is important to understand the role of the initial linear chain conformation on the resulting SCNP morphology. This proposal aims to use SANS to probe the effect of the poly-L-lysine (PLL) conformation through solvent conditions on the morphology of the resulting SCNPs.