Glycopolymers for Protection of Protein Conjugates

在这个由化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目资助的项目中，洛杉矶的加州大学的石楠梅纳德将合成和研究含海藻糖的聚合物，用于稳定蛋白质对环境压力和蛋白水解降解的影响。 蛋白反应性海藻糖侧链单体和聚合物将使用受控自由基聚合技术合成。 这些聚合物将与蛋白质缀合，并且将量化糖聚合物对蛋白质的稳定性。 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合作，向幼儿园至高中女生提供化学、聚合物和生物分子方面的教育，并通过“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”参与向公众的宣传活动。然而，许多蛋白质是不稳定的，并且在储存、运输和使用期间需要特殊的条件，例如低温。 与未修饰的形式相比，预期附着于海藻糖聚合物的蛋白质具有显著增加的寿命和生物活性。这项研究预计将通过降低储存和运输成本，大大拓宽学术研究人员和工业界对蛋白质的使用，并且还将使蛋白质能够在难以或不可能储存的地方使用。 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，生物医学和材料社区。

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.