Well-defined branched-chain copolypeptide materials via catalysis

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In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Timothy Deming of the University of California at Los Angeles will study how to utilize different types of initiation chemistries and polymerization catalysts in one reaction to generate branched polypeptide architectures ranging from cylindrical brush to hyperbranched. The approach is to employ different initiation chemistry, different monomers (N-carboxyanhydrides and their sulfur derivatives), and different nickel and cobalt polymerization catalysts to control the relative initiation rates of the added free initiator versus ones that are tethered to the side chain of the monomer. In this manner, a range of polymer architectures can be prepared by controlling the amount of propagation that occurs from each type of initiating site. The broader impacts involve advancing teaching, training and learning in interdisciplinary bioengineering at UCLA as well as participating in recruiting underrepresented minorities to pursue advanced STEM degrees.This work will enhance our fundamental understanding about how to easily prepare polypeptides, the basic component of proteins, which have different types of branched structures. The results of these studies could have many important long term impacts on applications in which protein-based materials are important, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and other areas of biotechnology.