Micelle-like globular polybases of the partially quaternized poly[thio-1-[(N-R1-N-R2-amino)methyl]ethylene] type as catalysts for chemical modification of hydrophobic substrates in water

In aqueous media, bifunctional polybases of the partially quaternized poly[thio-1-[(N-R 1 -N-R 2 -amino)methyl]ethylene] type (Q-P(T,N-R 1 -N-R 2 ,AE)X, with X=percentage of N-quaternization) take on aglobular conformation, an extended-coil conformation, or both at equilibrium, depending on the ionization state of tertiary amine residues and on a globule-to-coil cooperative transition of the all-or-none type. It has been previously shown that micelle-like globules are able to catalyze the hydrolyse of N-CBZ-L-leucine p-nitrophenyl (PNP) ester in water at neutral pH with rate increases as high as several thousand times with respect to polymer-free solutions buffered at the same pH