The synthesis and supramolecular organization of a novel class of rod-coil
type diblock oligomers will be discussed. The diblock oligomers consist of
a rodlike alpha -helical oligopeptide segment that is conjugated to an olig
o(styrene) coil. In comparison with most of the rod-coil type oligomers tha
t have been investigated so far, these peptide-based diblock oligomers poss
ess some unique features: (i) the conformation of the oligopeptide rod segm
ent can be reversibly manipulated under the action of appropriate external
stimuli, and (ii) the self-assembly of these molecules is (also) driven by
directed hydrogen-bonding interactions. The diblock oligomers are prepared
by ring-opening polymerization of gamma -benzyl-L-glutamate N-carboxyanhydr
ide using a primary amine-terminated oligo(styrene) as the initiator. The d
iblock oligomers form thermotropic liquid-crystalline phases, whose supramo
lecular organization depends both on the relative block-lengths and on the
conformation of the peptide segment.