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Updated: Sep 30, 2025

Synthesis of Information-bearing Peptoids and their Sequence-directed Dynamic Covalent Self-assembly
Published on: February 6, 2020
Semiautomated synthesis of sequence-defined polymers for information storage
Jeong Min Lee1, Junho Kwon1, Soo Jeong Lee1
1Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Abstract:
Accelerated and parallel synthesis of sequence-defined polymers is an utmost challenge for realizing ultrahigh-density storage of digital information in molecular media. Here, we report step-economical synthesis of sequence-defined poly(l-lactic-co-glycolic acid)s (PLGAs) using continuous flow chemistry. A reactor performed the programmed coupling of the 2-bit storing building blocks to generate a library of their permutations in a single continuous flow, followed by their sequential convergences to a sequence-defined PLGA storing 64 bits in four successive flows. We demonstrate that a bitmap image (896 bits) can be encoded and decoded in 14 PLGAs using only a fraction of the time required for an equivalent synthesis by conventional batch processes. Accelerated synthesis of sequence-defined polymers could also contribute to macromolecular engineering with precision comparable to natural precedents.
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