Greener synthesis of peptoids with varying hydrophobic monomers for the formation of peptoid nano-sandwich

Peptoids are polymer structures made of N-substituted glycine monomers in which the functional groups are bonded to the nitrogen atom. Due to the lack of chirality in their backbone, these molecules have many biological and environmental applications. Previously determined to be capable of self-assembly, the Robertson Lab employed peptoids to be self-assembled, bilayered nanosheets that are embedded with ligand-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP). By alternating the hydrophobicity of the N-substituted glycine monomers, these peptoids foster a hydrophobic interior environment while simultaneously maintaining hydrophilic properties on its exterior. This allows for the polymer to be stable in water while creating a favorable interior environment for hydrophobic pollutants found in freshwater. Already known to be capable of self assembly without the present of AuNP, the peptoid B23-Cl was tested in its ability to embed 5 nm dodecanethiol functionalized AuNp, to determine if there are potential alternatives to the standard peptoid structure that are equally effective. Additionally, in attempts to further control the factors of creating these nanosheets, peptoid synthesis is manually performed using the submonomer method in the Robertson Lab. This synthesis has been refined to create the pepotid needed for nanosheets; however, this process requires a large quantity of Dimethylformamide (DMF). To replace this environmentally unfriendly solvent, the same synthetic method was performed using Ethyl Acetate and small quantities of DMSO to determine if the use of green solvents are equally effective.