Polypeptide‐ and Protein‐Based Conjugate Nanoparticles via Aqueous Ring‐Opening Polymerization‐Induced Self‐Assembly (ROPISA)

Protein–polymer conjugates and polymeric nanomaterials hold great promise in many applications including biomaterials, medicine, or nanoelectronics. In this work, the first polymerization‐induced self‐assembly (PISA) approach performed in aqueous medium enabling protein–polymer conjugates and nanoparticles entirely composed of amino acids is presented by using ring‐opening polymerization (ROP). It is indeed shown that aqueous ring‐opening polymerization‐induced self‐assembly (ROPISA) can be used with protein or peptidic macroinitiators without prior chemical modification and afford the simple preparation of nanomaterials with protein‐like property, for example, to implement biomimetic thermoresponsivity in drug delivery.