High Molecular Weight Uniform Polymers Encoding Octal Sequences by Passerini Iterative Exponential Growth.

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Organic Synthesis
• Materials Science

Background:

• Sequence-defined polymers (SDPs) mimic biopolymer precision but face challenges in high molecular weight synthesis with diverse monomers.
• Existing iterative exponential growth (IEG) methods are limited to binary monomers, hindering the creation of complex SDPs.
• Achieving high molecular weight and sequence complexity simultaneously in synthetic polymers remains a significant hurdle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel method for synthesizing high molecular-weight SDPs with a large pool of distinct monomers.
• To enable the encoding of complex information within the polymer sequence.
• To explore the potential of these precisely defined polymers for advanced material applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Passerini iterative exponential growth (P-IEG) approach, leveraging the Passerini three-component reaction.
• Utilizing bifunctional building blocks for exponential chain growth and specific isocyanides for side-chain implementation.
• Synthesis of a 128-mer poly(hydroxybutyrate) with defined side groups and a 31-mer SDP encoding an octal sequence.

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis of uniform 128-mer poly(hydroxybutyrate) (27 kDa, Đ = 1) with 127 γ-acylamino cyclohexyl side groups.
• Creation of a 31-mer SDP encoding an octal sequence, equivalent to 93 bits of binary information.
• Demonstration of simultaneous exponential growth and side-chain complexity using the P-IEG method.

Conclusions:

• The P-IEG approach overcomes limitations in synthesizing complex, high molecular-weight SDPs.
• This method allows for the synthetic encoding of substantial digital information within polymer structures.
• The developed polymers offer potential for novel functional materials with unprecedented properties, including high-density data storage.