Abstract of Hua Lu's presentation
Robust Synthesis and Biomedical Applications of Polypeptides
Poly(amino acids), a.k.a. synthetic polypeptides, are important biomedical polymers, typically prepared by ring-opening polymerization of amino acid N-carboxyanhydrides (NCAs). In recent years, NCA chemistry has rapidly developed, with a plethora of new monomers and polymerization systems emerging. However, there remain significant challenges that have yet to be overcome to advance the field. The synthesis of NCA monomers usually requires strictly anhydrous conditions, and the side chain functional groups often need protection, which makes the monomer preparation, purification, and subsequent polymerization particularly challenging due to the high reactivity of the monomers. On the other hand, improvements are still needed in the molecular weight and functionalization of poly(amino acids), and the scale-up synthesis of some important functional poly(amino acids) has been slow. This report will focus on the current challenges in the synthesis and polymerization of NCA monomers, and will highlight several recent advancements in the field of NCA and poly(amino acid) chemistry by our research group. These include new methods for the synthesis of water-tolerant NCA monomers, water-assisted ultrafast controlled ring-opening polymerization of proline NCA, acid-catalyzed synthesis of ultra-high molecular weight polysarcosine, and machine learning-assisted high-throughput synthesis of functional seleno-containing poly(amino acids).
