UC Berkeley Chemistry Department, Latimer Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
The Molecular Foundry Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
Adv Mater. 2015 Oct 14;27(38):5665-91. doi: 10.1002/adma.201500275. Epub 2015 Apr 8.
Polymer sequence programmability is required for the diverse structures and complex properties that are achieved by native biological polymers, but efforts towards controlling the sequence of synthetic polymers are, by comparison, still in their infancy. Traditional polymers provide robust and chemically diverse materials, but synthetic control over their monomer sequences is limited. The modular and step-wise synthesis of peptoid polymers, on the other hand, allows for precise control over the monomer sequences, affording opportunities for these chains to fold into well-defined nanostructures. Hundreds of different side chains have been incorporated into peptoid polymers using efficient reaction chemistry, allowing for a seemingly infinite variety of possible synthetically accessible polymer sequences. Combinatorial discovery techniques have allowed the identification of functional polymers within large libraries of peptoids, and newly developed theoretical modeling tools specifically adapted for peptoids enable the future design of polymers with desired functions. Work towards controlling the three-dimensional structure of peptoids, from the conformation of the amide bond to the formation of protein-like tertiary structure, has and will continue to enable the construction of tunable and innovative nanomaterials that bridge the gap between natural and synthetic polymers.
聚合物序列可编程性是天然生物聚合物实现多样化结构和复杂性质所必需的，但与天然生物聚合物相比，人们对合成聚合物序列的控制仍处于起步阶段。传统聚合物提供了强大且化学性质多样的材料，但对其单体序列的合成控制有限。另一方面，类肽聚合物的模块化和逐步合成允许对单体序列进行精确控制，为这些链折叠成定义明确的纳米结构提供了机会。已经使用高效反应化学将数百种不同的侧链掺入类肽聚合物中，从而可以获得看似无限多样的可能的合成可访问聚合物序列。组合发现技术允许在类肽的大型文库中鉴定具有功能的聚合物，并且专门为类肽开发的新的理论建模工具可以实现具有所需功能的聚合物的未来设计。从酰胺键的构象到形成类似蛋白质的三级结构，控制类肽的三维结构的工作已经并将继续使可调谐和创新的纳米材料的构建成为可能，这些纳米材料弥合了天然和合成聚合物之间的差距。
