On the solvation of elastin-like polypeptides in aqueous mixtures

The collapsed or expanded state of a polymer is determined by the quality of the solvents: a polymer collapses in a poor solvent, whereas
in a good solvent it opens up. While this standard understanding is generally valid, there are examples when a polymer collapses even in a
mixture of two good solvents. This phenomenon, commonly known as co-non-solvency, is usually associated with smart polymers. Recent
experiments have shown that biopolymers, such as elastin-like polypeptides (ELP), show co-non-solvency in aqueous-ethanol mixtures. In
this work, we compare conformational behavior of ELPs in aqueous-ethanol and -urea mixtures using explicit solvent generic simulations. These results may pave ways for operational understanding and advanced functional designing of biocompatible materials.

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