Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Seeded Emulsion Polymerization of Styrene in the Presence of Water-Swollen Hydrogel Microspheres

In a previous study, we have ascertained that the charge distribution in hydrogel microspheres (microgels) plays a crucial role in controlling the nanocomposite structure of the polystyrene obtained from the seeded emulsion polymerization (SEP) of styrene in the presence of microgels. However, all these polymerizations were conducted at high temperature, where most of these microgels were dehydrated and deswollen. In the present study, we initially verified that the nanocomposite microgels can be synthesized even when the seed microgels are swollen and hydrated during the SEP of styrene. These highly swollen microgels were used as the nucleation sites for the polystyrene, and subsequently the propagation of the hydrophobic polystyrenes proceeded within water-swollen microgels

Self-Assembling Supramolecular Nanostructures Constructed from <i>de Novo</i> Extender Protein Nanobuilding Blocks

The design of novel proteins that self-assemble into supramolecular complexes is important for development in nanobiotechnology and synthetic biology. Recently, we designed and created a protein nanobuilding block (PN–Block), WA20-foldon, by fusing an intermolecularly folded dimeric <i>de novo</i> WA20 protein and a trimeric foldon domain of T4 phage fibritin (Kobayashi <i>et al</i>., <i>J. Am. Chem. Soc.</i> <b>2015</b>, 137, 11285). WA20-foldon formed several types of self-assembling nanoarchitectures in multiples of 6-mers, including a barrel-like hexamer and a tetrahedron-like dodecamer. In this study, to construct chain-like polymeric nanostructures, we designed <i>de novo</i> extender protein nanobuilding blocks (ePN–Blocks) by tandemly fusing two <i>de novo</i> binary-patterned WA20 proteins with various linkers. The ePN–Blocks with long helical linkers or flexible linkers were expressed in soluble fractions of <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and the purified ePN–Blocks were analyzed by native PAGE, size exclusion chromatography–multiangle light scattering (SEC–MALS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and transmission electron microscopy. These results suggest formation of various structural homo-oligomers. Subsequently, we reconstructed hetero-oligomeric complexes from extender and stopper PN–Blocks by denaturation and refolding. The present SEC–MALS and SAXS analyses show that extender and stopper PN–Block (esPN–Block) heterocomplexes formed different types of extended chain-like conformations depending on their linker types. Moreover, atomic force microscopy imaging in liquid suggests that the esPN–Block heterocomplexes with metal ions further self-assembled into supramolecular nanostructures on mica surfaces. Taken together, the present data demonstrate that the design and construction of self-assembling PN–Blocks using <i>de novo</i> proteins is a useful strategy for building polymeric nanoarchitectures of supramolecular protein complexes