Complex coacervate core micelles in organic solvents

• Grant number: 22/16003-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: April 24, 2023
• End date: April 23, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Watson Loh
• Grantee: Jussara Alves Penido
• Supervisor: Sarah Perry
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Massachusetts, Amherst (UMass Amherst), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/16062-9 - Expanding the domain of complex coacervate core micelles: formation of mixed micelles and in non-aqueous solvents, BP.DR

Abstract

Nanoparticles formed by electrostatic complexation between oppositely charged species have been extensively investigated in recent years due to their different functionalities. In this area are the complex coacervate core micelle (C3M), formed by the mixture of aqueous solutions of a copolymer with an oppositely charged macromolecule. The process of formation, characterization, and application of C3Ms in aqueous solution have been extensively reported in the literature. However, little is known about C3Ms with aqueous core in organic solvents although C3Ms in aqueous solutions are efficient for applications that could also be carried out in organic solvents, such as enzymatic catalysis or application in sensors. In this sense, this project proposes to investigate the formation, structural characteristics, and stability of C3Ms with aqueous core in organic solvents with different polarities (such as toluene, chloroform, and/or ethyl acetate). In addition, C3Ms will be investigated as to their ability to encapsulate and stabilize protein in organic solvent and as to their ability to perform enzymatic catalysis. The factors that affect/improve protein encapsulation and enzymatic catalysis in that system are also going to be investigated. For this, some interesting systems could be investigated, such as the use of organophosphate hydrolase to catalyze the hydrolysis of organophosphate compounds, such as pesticides paraoxon or parathion in organic solvent. This system is interesting due to its environmental appeal, since most of these organophosphate compounds are highly neurotoxic chemical agents and have low solubility in water. The structural characteristics of C3Ms in organic solvents (with and without protein) will be investigated using light and x-ray scattering techniques (DLS, SLS and SAXS) and the stability of the encapsulated protein will be investigated by circular dichroism. The expertise of Professor Sarah Perry's group at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in complex coacervates and encapsulation of proteins in complex coacervates will guide the investigations of proteins encapsulations and enzymatic catalysis into reverse complex coacervate core micelle in organic solvents. (AU)