Vinyl Ether Maleic\nAcid Polymers: Tunable Polymers\nfor Self-Assembled Lipid Nanodiscs and Environments for Membrane Proteins

Native lipid bilayer mimetics, including those that use\namphiphilic\npolymers, are important for the effective study of membrane-bound\npeptides and proteins. Copolymers of vinyl ether monomers and maleic\nanhydride were developed with controlled molecular weights and hydrophobicity\nthrough reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization.\nAfter polymerization, the maleic anhydride units can be hydrolyzed,\ngiving dicarboxylates. The vinyl ether and maleic anhydride copolymerized\nin a close to alternating manner, giving essentially alternating hydrophilic\nmaleic acid units and hydrophobic vinyl ether units along the backbone\nafter hydrolysis. The vinyl ether monomers and maleic acid polymers\nself-assembled with lipids, giving vinyl ether maleic acid lipid particles\n(VEMALPs) with tunable sizes controlled by either the vinyl ether\nhydrophobicity or the polymer molecular weight. These VEMALPs were\nable to support membrane-bound proteins and peptides, creating a new\nclass of lipid bilayer mimetics.