Preparation and PCR‐Amplification Properties of a Novel Amphiphilic Poly( N ‐vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) Copolymer

A novel amphiphilic copolymer, P(NVP‐ co ‐TrpAMT) ( 9 ) was prepared, comprising hydrophilic N ‐vinylpyrrolidone (NVP; 8 ) and hydrophobic ‘ N ‐[( tert ‐butoxy)carbonyl]tryptophanamido‐ N ′‐methacryl thiourea’ (TrpAMT; 7 ) segments. The amphiphilic copolymer 9 was characterized by 1 H‐NMR, GPC‐MALLS, TEM, and MTT assay. It has a critical micelle concentration ( cmc ) of 45.7 mg/l in aqueous solution, and good biocompatibility in vivo. According to TEM, the polymer is mostly present as spherical micelles in water, with a diameter of ca. 60–90 nm. In the presence of 0.1 μg/ml of 9 , the PCR amplification of the GC‐rich β ‐actin was efficiently enhanced. Also, the fluorescence intensity of the reporter dye SYBR Green I was increased by 26% at the 14th cycle during real‐time PCR of plasmid pUC18 DNA.