Synthesis of Monodisperse Polymers from Proteins

This paper describes the syntheses of representative members of a new class of monodisperse, semisynthetic polymers- polymers obtained by perfunctionalization of amine groups on a protein. Monodisperse polymers are centrally important in understanding the relationships between molecular and physical properties of macromolecules.1 They may be useful where well-defined macro-molecular structures are necessary (e.g., polyvalent biological agents2), or where physical properties must be tightly controlled (e.g., in molecular weight standards, or as subjects of biological or spectroscopic study). Truly monodisperse polymers are, however, difficult to prepare using the methods of conventional polymer synthesis. We hypothesized that by starting with polymeric backbones that were already monodisperse- proteins- and by modifying their side chains chemically, we might be able to synthesize monodisperse polymers with precisely tailored sequenc