Lock and key micelles
AssigneeUniversity of South Florida
InventorsGeorge R. Newkome, Charles N. Moorefield, Gregory R. Baker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A lock unimolecular micelle includes at least one engineered acceptor specifically binding a ligand (or specifically a "key" unimolecular micelle) thereto. A key unimolecular micelle comprises a core molecule and a plurality of branches extending therefrom, at least one of the branches including a shank portion extending therefrom having a terminal moiety at an end thereof for binding to a complimentary acceptor of a lock unimolecular micelle. Together, the lock and key micelles form a unit, either irreversibly or reversibly bound wherein the lock micelles is a soluble receptor engineered to specifically bind to the specifically engineered key micelle.
Claims9
A method of generating a molecular complex by combining a lock micelle molecule including at least one engineered acceptor with a solution containing a key micelle molecule including a core molecule and a plurality of branches extending therefrom, at least one of said branches including a shank portion extending therefrom having a terminal moiety at an end thereof for binding to a complementary acceptor of a lock unimolecular micelle;
- and selectively binding the terminal moiety to said acceptor to selectively form a bimicellar complex.
A method of delivering a guest molecule to a target binding site having a predetermined affinity by delivering a lock and key micellar complex bound together through a guest having a predetermined affinity for an acceptor region of the lock micelle which is less than the affinity for the target binding site to the binding site and competitively releasing the key micelle bound to the guest from the lock micelle and binding the guest portion of the key micelle to the target binding region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.