Glycopolymers for Protection of Protein Conjugates

在这个由化学系的大分子、超分子和纳米化学计划资助的项目中，加州大学洛杉矶分校的Heather Maynard将合成和研究含有海藻糖的聚合物，用于稳定蛋白质对环境应激源和蛋白质的降解。蛋白质反应性海藻糖侧链单体和聚合物将使用可控自由基聚合技术来合成。这些聚合物将连接到蛋白质上，并将定量测定糖共聚物对蛋白质的稳定作用。该项目的更广泛影响包括培训本科生和研究生，通过与洛杉矶女童子军的合作，从幼儿园到高中女孩关于化学、聚合物和生物分子的教育，以及通过加州大学洛杉矶分校家长周末和加州大学洛杉矶分校校友日参与到公众中。蛋白质是化学和制药行业的重要试剂；然而，许多蛋白质是不稳定的，需要特殊的条件，如储存、运输和使用过程中的低温。与未经修饰的版本相比，连接到海藻糖聚合物上的蛋白质有望显著延长寿命和生物活性。这项研究预计将通过降低储存和运输成本，显著扩大学术研究人员和工业对蛋白质的使用，还应该能够在难以或不可能储存的地方使用蛋白质。这项工作将有助于合成活性和稳定的蛋白质，用于广泛的应用，并可能影响聚合物、化学、生物医学和材料领域。

In this project funded by the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Heather Maynard of the University of California at Los Angeles will synthesize and study trehalose-containing polymers for the stabilization of proteins to environmental stressors and proteolytic degradation. Protein-reactive trehalose side chain monomers and polymers will be synthesized using controlled radical polymerization techniques. These polymers will be conjugated to proteins, and the stabilization of the proteins by the glycopolymers will be quantified. The broader impacts of the project involve training undergraduate and graduate students, educating kindergarten through high school girls about chemistry, polymers, and biomolecules through partnership with the Girl Scouts of Los Angeles, and participating in outreach to the general public via UCLA Parents Weekend and UCLA Alumni Day.Proteins are important reagents in chemical and pharmaceutical industry; however, many proteins are unstable and require specialized conditions such as cold temperatures during storage, transport, and use. Proteins that are attached to trehalose polymers are expected to have significantly increased lifetimes and bioactivities compared to unmodified versions. This research is expected to significantly broaden the use of proteins by academic researchers and industry by reducing the costs of storage and transportation, and it should also enable the use of proteins where storage would be difficult or impossible. This work will contribute to the synthesis of active and stable proteins for a wide range of applications and could impact the polymer, chemical, biomedical and materials communities.