DNA - Mimics: Sequence Control in Synthetic Polymers

The herein proposed project aims at the creation of fully synthetic DNA-mimicking polymers by means of sequence controlled radical polymerization. The resulting polymers should function as template for reproducible, synthetic replication of complementary polymer strands, a methodology that has been developed in the Sleiman group. This project is a contribution to an interdisciplinary field of biochemistry, polymer chemistry as well as material science, and can be best described as "bionics on a molecular level". The availability of synthetic material that exhibits properties of natural DNA is of tremendous interest. Specifically, the unrivalled molecular recognition specifity and the intrinsic self-organization to highly ordered supramolecular structures with tremendous precision are desired characteristics in not only bio- and medicinal related fields, but also material science. Material that is coded with the information contained in DNA but based on synthetic polymers, would be stable, easy to process, and could flexibly be functionalized, thus modified according to respective needs. Unlike conventional synthetic polymers, these structures offer the opportunity to precisely position complementary components into monodisperse and precisely tailored advanced materials. In reverse, the industrial use of natural DNA in the abovementioned application fields is hampered by its lack of long-term-stability and limited access to large quantities due to costly and elaborate syntheses. With the synthetic mimics though, challenges in the efficient creation of nanostructured electronic components for example, could be addressed. The far-reaching fundamental and practical impact of these structures is evident. Now, one of the main challenges in this context is how to provide sequence control during the polymerization procedure of the templates in order to place the DNA bases at their specific places in the polymer chain. One of the goals within this project is the synthesis of polymers featuring a strictly alternating pattern of two DNA-base equipped monomers. The chosen approach is also feasible for even more sophisticated polymer architectures. Tasks envisaged for the herein proposed project include synthesis of different DNA-base-equipped monomers for radical polymerization (based on styrene and N- substituted maleimides), determination of suitable initiating systems and reaction conditions and evaluation of scope and limitations regarding the sequence control, and a post-modification approach where DNA bases are attached to an alternating, well defined polymer strand after polymerization.