SYNTHESIS AND DEGRADATION OF NONPEPTIDIC ALPHA-AMINO ACID-CONTAINING POLYAMIDES

This paper describes the synthesis of new water-soluble nonpeptidic a- amino acid-containing polyamides. Preliminary results of hydrolytic an d enzymatic degradations of L-lysine and L-cystine-based polyamides ar e also presented. Most of these polymers revealed to be stable towards hydrolytic degradation. Only poly(L-cystyl-L-cystine) PCC IV was rapi dly degraded in Tris buffer pH 7,4. Insoluble poly(adipoyl-L-lysine be nzyl ester) could be degraded by papain and pepsin. Polyamides from L- cystine were shown to be more susceptible to enzymatic degradation. Tr ypsin, papain and glutathione reductase degraded PCC IV much more rapi dly than Tris buffer 7,4 alone.