Folding induced supramolecular assembly into pH-responsive nanorods with a protein repellent shell.

We report the synthesis of ABA' triblock peptide-polysarcosine-peptide conjugates featuring two complementary phenylalanine-histidine pentapeptide strands A/A'. These sequences encode for antiparallel ß-sheet formation into folded conjugates, which promote the self-assembly into polysarcosine-shielded core-shell nanorods. These do not cause aggregation of serum proteins in human blood plasma underlining an enhanced stability.