Recent developments in polymer–block–polypeptide and protein–polymer bioconjugate hybrid materials

Abstract

In the last few years, polymer bioconjugates have been shown to be useful in many emerging areas of materials science. Consequently, the synthesis of polymer bioconjugates has suddenly become a central topic in polymer chemistry. The versatility and robust nature of modern synthetic methods such as controlled radical polymerisation (CLRP),1Abbreviations: AGET, activators generated by electron transfer; AM, amine mechanism; AMM, activated monomer mechanism; ATRP, atom-transfer radical polymerisation; BLG, β-benzyl-L-glutamate; Boc, butylcarbonate; BSA, bovine serum albumin; CLRP, controlled radical polymerisation; CTAs, chain-transfer agents; DCC, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide; DLS, dynamic light scattering; DMAP, dimethylaminopyridine; DSC, differential scanning calorimetry; DMAEMA, dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate; FT-IR, Fourier-transform infrared; GFP, green fluorescent protein; GPC, gel permeation chromatography; HMA, hostasol methacrylate; His, histidine; HO−EbiB, 2-hydroxyethyl 2-bromoisobutyrate; HO−POEOMA, hydroxy-functionalised poly(oligo(ethylene oxide) monomethyl ether methacrylate); HRP, horseradish peroxidase; LCST, lower critical solution temperature; MePEG α-SPA, monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-succinimidyl propionate; MW, molecular weight; n-BuA, butyl acrylate; NAM, N-acryloylmorpholine; NCAs, N-carboxyanhydrides; NHS, N-hydroxysuccinimidyl; NMP, nitroxide-mediated radical polymerisation; NMR, nuclear magnetic resonance; N-TMS, N-trimethylsilyl; PAGE, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; PBLA, poly(β-benzyl-L-aspartate); PBLG, poly(γ-benzyl-L-glutamate); PBS, phosphate-buffered saline; PDI, polydispersity index; PDS, pyridyl disulphide; PEG, poly(ethylene glycol); PEGA, poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether acrylate; PEGMA, poly(ethylene glycol) methylether methacrylate; p(HEMA), poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate); pHPMA, poly(N-(2-hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide); PMA, poly(methyl acrylate); pNIPAM, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide); PS, polystyrene; PyBOP, benzotriazol-1-yl-oxytripyrrolidinophosphonium hexafluorophosphate; PZLL, poly(ε-carbobenzyloxy-L-lysine); RAFT, reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer polymerisation; rh–GH, recombinant human growth hormone; RMA, rhodamine methacrylate; ROP, ring-opening polymerisation; sCT, salmon calcitonin; SDS-PAGE, sodium dodecyl sulphate PAGE; SPPS, solid-phase supported synthesis; t-BA, tert-butyl acrylate; TCEP, tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine; THF, tetrahydrofuran; TMB, 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine; VLP, virus-like particle.1 ring-opening polymerisation (ROP), and ‘click’ chemistry make them excellent tools for the preparation of tailor-made polymer bioconjugates. CLRP in combination with other techniques has been shown to be a mature technology for building tailor-made block copolymers and protein–polymer conjugates with a wide range of applications, especially in biomedical domains. This review describes the recent advances and progress in the rapidly expanding field of bioconjugation, outlining the work performed up to 2012.