Recent progress toward the templated synthesis and directed evolution of sequence-defined synthetic polymers

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Synthetic Biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Biological polymers like nucleic acids and proteins have limitations in stability, functionality, and immunogenicity for non-natural applications.
• Sequence-defined synthetic polymers offer potential solutions but identifying functional sequences is challenging.
• Molecular evolution requires methods to translate genetic information into synthetic polymer sequences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review recent advances in templated polymerization for nonnatural polymers.
• To explore the potential of these methods in directed evolution of synthetic polymers.
• To highlight applications beyond natural biological systems.

Main Methods:

• Enzymatic templated polymerization of nonnatural monomers.
• Nonenzymatic templated polymerization strategies.
• Integration of templated polymerization with molecular evolution.

Main Results:

• Demonstration of enzymatic and nonenzymatic methods for creating sequence-defined synthetic polymers.
• Advancements in translating amplifiable templates into synthetic polymer sequences.
• Emerging potential for synthetic polymers in diverse applications.

Conclusions:

• Templated polymerization is a key enabling technology for creating functional synthetic polymers.
• Directed evolution of synthetic polymers holds significant promise for future innovations.
• Overcoming limitations of biological polymers is achievable with synthetic alternatives.