Polypeptides and 100 Years of Chemistry of α‐Amino Acid N‐Carboxyanhydrides
Top Cited Papers
- 1 September 2006
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Wiley in Angewandte Chemie-International Edition
- Vol. 45 (35), 5752-5784
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200600693
Abstract
Syntheses and polymerizations of α‐amino acid N‐carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) were reported for the first time by Hermann Leuchs in 1906. Since that time, these cyclic and highly reactive amino acid derivatives were used for stepwise peptide syntheses but mainly for the formation of polypeptides by ring‐opening polymerizations. This review summarizes the literature after 1985 and reports on new aspects of the polymerization processes, such as the formation of cyclic polypeptides or novel organometal catalysts. Polypeptides with various architectures, such as diblock, triblock, and multiblock sequences, and star‐shaped or dendritic structures are also mentioned. Furthermore, lyotropic and thermotropic liquid‐crystalline polypeptides will be discussed and the role of polypeptides as drugs or drug carriers are reviewed. Finally, the hypothetical role of NCAs in molecular evolution on the prebiotic Earth is discussed.Keywords
This publication has 102 references indexed in Scilit:
- Polypeptide-Shelled Poly(propylene imine) Dendrimers and Their Complexing Properties towards Copper(II) IonsMacromolecular Rapid Communications, 2005
- Preparation of Well‐Defined Diblock Copolymers with Short Polypeptide Segments by Polymerization of N‐Carboxy AnhydridesMacromolecular Rapid Communications, 2004
- The Formation of Biodegradable Polymeric Micelles from Newly Synthesized Poly(aspartic acid)‐block‐Polylactide AB‐Type Diblock CopolymersMacromolecular Rapid Communications, 2004
- Homopolymers and copolymers of N-4-phenylbenzamido-L-lysine and N-trifluoroacetyl-L-lysine: Synthesis and liquid-crystalline propertiesMacromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 2002
- Synthesis, characterization, and physical properties of new copolymers of poly(amino acid)-urethane?copolymers of ?-methyl-L-glutamate-N-carboxyanhydride and urethane prepolymerJournal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry, 1999
- Amino‐termined poly(L‐lactide)s as initiators for the polymerization of N‐carboxyanhydrides: synthesis of poly(L‐lactide)‐block‐poly(α‐amino acid)sMacromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 1995
- Synthesis and structural study of an ABA block copolymer consisting of poly(ε‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L‐lysine) as the a block and poly(ethylene oxide) as the B blockMacromolecular Chemistry and Physics, 1994
- Investigation of the solid-state polymerization of N-carboxy α-amino acid anhydrides with reference to their crystal structuresPolymer, 1992
- Preparation and properties of optical notch filters of cholesteric liquid crystalsPolymer, 1988
- Rheology of concentrated solutions of helical polypeptidesJournal of Polymer Science: Polymer Physics Edition, 1980