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Published on: April 22, 2016
Radical Polymerization in Living Systems
Peng Yi1, Jiajia Wu1, Menglei Song1
1National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory for New Petro-chemical Materials and Fine Utilization of Resources, Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology & Traditional Chinese Medicine Research of Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan 410081, China.
Abstract:
Integrating synthetic macromolecular chemistry into complex biological environments offers revolutionary opportunities to understand and modulate living systems. Among synthetic strategies, radical polymerization stands out as a premier methodology due to its exceptional adaptability to aqueous and physiological conditions, diverse initiation mechanisms (e.g., light, heat, electricity), and broad monomer tolerance. This Viewpoint provides a comprehensive overview of the emerging field of radical polymerization (RP) in living systems. We discuss the evolution of these strategies from simple cell fixation to sophisticated applications in regulating biological processes, highlighting the unique advantages of RP in bridging synthetic chemistry with biology. Finally, current challenges regarding biocompatibility and reaction control are addressed, alongside future perspectives for advancing this field toward in vivo tissue engineering and precise biomedical interventions.
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