Polysaccharide-hair cationic polypeptide nanogels: self-assembly and enzymatic polymerization of amylose primer-modified cholesteryl poly(L-lysine).

In this study, we prepared a new associating polymer, ChMaPLL, by the substitution of the poly(L-lysine) moiety with oligosaccharide amylose primer and cholesterol. ChMaPLL formed positively charged polypeptide nanogels (~50 nm) via self-assembly in water. The nanogels showed a secondary structural transition to an α-helix structure induced by poly(L-lysine) in response to an increase in pH. Oligosaccharides of the nanogels reacted with the phosphorylase a enzyme. Amylose-conjugated nanogels were obtained by enzymatic polymerization. The elongation of the saccharide chain shielded the positive charge of the nanogels. The multiresponsive polysaccharide-polypeptide hybrid nanogels might prove to be useful in the areas of biotechnology and biomedicine.