Research Highlights
Hybrid Sugar-Peptide Copolymers
Saccharide-peptide hybrid copolymers as highly functional biomaterials, is the new design concept introduced by Professor Zhibin Guan , published online September 15, in Angewandte Chemie International Edition . The novelty of the demonstrated concept, and its promise as a flexible approach for the synthesis of biomaterials with tailored properties has already been recognized in Chemical Engineering News (C&EN) and the international press.
Novel Cyclophane Catalyst for Valuable Materials
A "Holy Grail" in olefin polymerization catalysis field is to discover transition metal catalysts that can efficiently copolymerize polar olefins. In a Communication to J. Amer. Chem. Soc. that is currently in press, Professor Guan and his graduate student Chris Popeney, and former postdoctoral fellow Drexel Camacho, have reported a cyclophane-based Pd(II) complex that is highly efficient in incorporating polar olefins like acrylates. Furthermore, low temperature NMR studies have revealed a unique mechanistic origin for the increased efficiency for polar olefin incorporation.
A recent communication to the Angew. Chem. from the Guan group was selected by the editors as a hot paper. In this communication, graduate student Ting-Bin Yu, research associate Jane Z. Bai, and Prof. Zhibin Guan reported the first example of polymerization-induced folding of a polymer into extensive beta-sheets. Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition polymerization of a peptide monomer induced folding of the resultant polymer into well-defined beta-sheets, which further self-assemble into hierarchical nanofibrils. The Guan group is currently applying this methodology to the synthesis of polymers mimicking spider dragline silk, one of the strongest natural fiber that contains extensive beta-sheets.
A Biomimetic Modular Polymer with Tough and Adaptive Properties
In a recent Communication to the Journal of the American Chemical Society , Professor Zhibin Guan, graduate students Aaron Kushner and Gregory Williams, and undergraduate student John Vossler, reported the first synthetic polymer to possess the advanced mechanical properties found in many natural materials, including good resistance to deformation, high toughness, and adaptive properties such as shape memory. Inspired by skeletal muscle protein titin , this biomimetic modular polymer has many possible applications, including implants, prosthetics, and "smart" materials. This work is highlighted in Nature Chemistry and Chemical and Engineering News .
