摘要
Consisting of natural histidine residues,polyhistidine(PHis)simulates functional proteins.Traditional approaches towards PHis require the protection of imidazole groups before monomer synthesis and polymerization to prevent degradation and side reactions.In the contribution,histidine N-thiocarboxyanhydride(His-NTA)is directly synthesized in aqueous solution without protection.With the self-catalysis of the imidazole side group,the ring-closing reaction to form His-NTA does not require any activating reagent(e.g.,phosphorus tribromide),which is elucidated by density functional theory(DFT)calculations.His-NTA directly polymerizes into PHis bearing unprotected imidazole groups with designable molecular weights(4.2-7.7 kg/mol)and low dispersities(1.10-1.19).Kinetic experiments and Monte Carlo simulations reveal the elementary reactions and the relationship between the conversion of His-NTA and time during polymerization.Block copolymerization of His-NTA with sarcosine N-thiocarboxyanhydride(Sar-NTA)demonstrate versatile construction of functional polypept(o)ides.The triblock copoly(amino acid)PHis-b-PSar-b-PHis is capable to reversibly coordinate with transition metal ions(Fe^(2+),Co^(2+),Ni^(2+),Cu^(2+)and Zn^(2+))to form pH-sensitive hydrogels.
基金
financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.22271252 and 22201105)。
