Hydrogen-Bonded Polymer Nanotubes in Water

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding, not hydrophobic interaction, is the driving force for the spontaneous self-assembly of glycosylated polyoxazoline chains into nanotubes in dilute aqueous solution. The structural information is encoded in the relatively simple molecular structure of chains consisting of a tertiary polyamide backbone (hydrogen-accepting) and glucose side chains (hydrogen-donating). The formation of the nanotubes should occur through bending and closing of a 2D hydrogen-bonded layer of interdigitated polymer chains.