Abstract: | Copolymerization of NCA's was undertaken in a heterogeneous system in acetonitrile, which is not a solvent of the polypeptides. The reactivity ratio was calculated by using the Lewis-Mayo equation. Further, the conversion rate in the copolymerization and the configuration of the copolymer produced were compared with those of the copolymerization in the homogeneous system in nitrobenzene, in which the copolypeptides are swollen. The rate of copolymerization in acetonitrile was between the rates of polymerization of the individual monomers. It has been reported that the configuration of the copolymer obtained in dimethylformamide, in which the copolypeptides are swollen, is of the block type. On the other hand, many polypeptides obtained in acetonitrile, which is not a solvent of the copolypeptides, had a random configuration near to an alternating configuration. |