Authors
Jonathan C Barnes, Deborah JC Ehrlich, Angela X Gao, Frank A Leibfarth, Yivan Jiang, Erica Zhou, Timothy F Jamison, Jeremiah A Johnson
Publication date
2015/10
Journal
Nature chemistry
Volume
7
Issue
10
Pages
810-815
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Description
Chemists have long sought sequence-controlled synthetic polymers that mimic nature's biopolymers, but a practical synthetic route that enables absolute control over polymer sequence and structure remains a key challenge. Here, we report an iterative exponential growth plus side-chain functionalization (IEG+) strategy that begins with enantiopure epoxides and facilitates the efficient synthesis of a family of uniform >3 kDa macromolecules of varying sequence and stereoconfiguration that are coupled to produce unimolecular polymers (>6 kDa) with sequences and structures that cannot be obtained using traditional polymerization techniques. Selective side-chain deprotection of three hexadecamers is also demonstrated, which imbues each compound with the ability to dissolve in water. We anticipate that these new macromolecules and the general IEG+ strategy will find broad application as a versatile platform …
Total citations
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Scholar articles
JC Barnes, DJC Ehrlich, AX Gao, FA Leibfarth, Y Jiang… - Nature chemistry, 2015