Monomer Choice Influences -Acryloyl Amino Acid Grafter Conversion via Protease Catalysis.

End-capped peptides modified with reactive functional groups on the N-terminus provide a route to prepare peptide-polymer conjugates for a broad range of applications. Unfortunately, current chemical methods to construct modified peptides rely largely on solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), which lacks green preparative characteristics and is costly, thus limiting its applicability to specialty applications such as regenerative medicine. This work evaluates N-terminally modified -acryloyl-glutamic acid diethyl ester, -acryloyl-leucine ethyl ester, and -acryloyl-alanine ethyl ester as grafters and papain as the protease for the direct addition of amino acid ethyl ester (AA-OEt) monomers via protease-catalyzed peptide synthesis (PCPS) and the corresponding formation of -acryloyl-functionalized oligopeptides in a one-pot aqueous reaction.

Emergent Approaches to Efficient and Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production.

Petroleum-derived plastics dominate currently used plastic materials. These plastics are derived from finite fossil carbon sources and were not designed for recycling or biodegradation. With the ever-increasing quantities of plastic wastes entering landfills and polluting our environment, there is an urgent need for fundamental change.

Rapid Synthesis of Silk-Like Polymers Facilitated by Microwave Irradiation and Click Chemistry.

Silk is a natural fiber that surpasses most man-made polymers in its combination of strength and toughness. Silk fibroin, the primary protein component of silk, can be synthetically mimicked by a linear copolymer with alternating rigid and soft segments. Strategies for chemical synthesis of such silk-like polymers have persistently resulted in poor sequence control, long reaction times, and low molecular weights.