Marc A. Gauthier

Synthesis of Functional Polymers by Post-Polymerization Modification

Post-polymerization modification is based on the direct polymerization or copolymerization of monomers bearing chemoselective handles that are inert towards the polymerization conditions but can be quantitatively converted in a subsequent step into a broad range of other functional groups. The success of this method is based on the excellent conversions achievable under mild conditions, the excellent functional-group tolerance, and the orthogonality of the post-polymerization modification reactions. This Review surveys different classes of reactive polymer precursors bearing chemoselective handles and discusses issues related to the preparation of these reactive polymers by direct polymerization of appropriately functionalized monomers as well as the post-polymerization modification of these precursors into functional polymers.

Peptide/protein–polymer conjugates: synthetic strategies and design concepts

This feature article provides a compilation of tools available for preparing well-defined peptide/protein-polymer conjugates, which are defined as hybrid constructs combining (i) a defined number of peptide/protein segments with uniform chain lengths and defined monomer sequences (primary structure) with (ii) a defined number of synthetic polymer chains. The first section describes methods for post-translational, or direct, introduction of chemoselective handles onto natural or synthetic peptides/proteins. Addressed topics include the residue- and/or site-specific modification of peptides/proteins at Arg, Asp, Cys, Gln, Glu, Gly, His, Lys, Met, Phe, Ser, Thr, Trp, Tyr and Val residues and methods for producing peptides/proteins containing non-canonical amino acids by peptide synthesis and protein engineering. In the second section, methods for introducing chemoselective groups onto the side-chain or chain-end of synthetic polymers produced by radical, anionic, cationic, metathesis and ring-opening polymerization are described. The final section discusses convergent and divergent strategies for covalently assembling polymers and peptides/proteins. An overview of the use of chemoselective reactions such as Heck, Sonogashira and Suzuki coupling, Diels-Alder cycloaddition, Click chemistry, Staudinger ligation, Michaels addition, reductive alkylation and oxime/hydrazone chemistry for the convergent synthesis of peptide/protein-polymer conjugates is given. Divergent approaches for preparing peptide/protein-polymer conjugates which are discussed include peptide synthesis from synthetic polymer supports, polymerization from peptide/protein macroinitiators or chain transfer agents and the polymerization of peptide side-chain monomers.

Oxygen Inhibition in Dental Resins

Oxygen inhibits free radical polymerization and yields polymers with uncured surfaces. This is a concern when thin layers of resin are being polymerized, or in circumstances where conventional means of eliminating inhibition are inappropriate. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that viscosity, filler content, and polymerization temperature modify oxygen diffusion in the resin or the reactivity of radical species, and affect the degree of conversion near the surface. Confocal Raman micro-spectroscopy was used to measure monomer conversion from the surface to the bulk of cured resins. Increased viscosity was shown to limit oxygen diffusion and increase conversion near the surface, without necessarily modifying the depth of inhibition. The filler material was shown to increase, simultaneously, oxygen diffusivity and the viscosity of the resin, which have opposite effects on conversion. Polymerization at a temperature above ~ 110°C was shown to eliminate oxygen inhibition.

Disulfide-containing parenteral delivery systems and their redox-biological fate.

Exploiting the redox-sensitivity of disulfide bonds is an increasingly popular means to trigger drug release at a target location in the body. The bio-reducible linker (containing a disulfide) can be cleaved when the drug delivery system in which it is incorporated passes from the poorly reducing extra-cellular biological environments to the strongly reducing intra-cellular spaces. This phenomenon has been characterized for a variety of drug carriers (e.g. antibody-drug conjugates and nucleic acid carriers) and made use of not only for intra-cellular drug release, but also to provide a mechanism of biodegradation. However, successful therapeutic application of redox-sensitive drug delivery systems, which are mostly investigated in the treatment of cancer, depends on timely cleavage of the disulfide in the body. As a result, an accurate and detailed understanding of the biological redox stimulus and the properties of the redox-sensitive moiety is of importance. This review introduces a number of currently relevant reducing agents and redox enzymes, and provides an overview of the redox environments a disulfide-containing drug delivery system encounters upon parenteral administration. Furthermore, the current state of knowledge regarding the behavior and responsiveness of disulfides in these redox-biological compartments is discussed.

Polymer–protein conjugates: an enzymatic activity perspective

Proteins have been modified with polymers in diverse manners over the past 30 years. However, while proteins have been used to prepare many functional constructs, they are sensitive biomolecules and their bioactivity can be either positively or negatively influenced by many different aspects of polymer modification. The primary focus of this review article is to highlight the opportunities offered by new trends in protein modification, and specifically how they influence the overall biological activity of the conjugate, including its dependence on temperature and pH. We survey the effect of polymer molecular weight, number of conjugated polymer chains, polymer coupling strategy (including random versus site-specific coupling, “grafting from”, and multi-point covalent attachment), polymer architecture (including branched and comb-type), polymer interactions with the protein (including electrostatic and host–guest interactions), polymer interactions with enzyme substrate, and polymer biodegradability. We have selected six enzymes, which have been extensively modified with polymers in diverse fashions in the literature, as basis for this discussion. These proteins are L-asparaginase, alpha-chymotrypsin, trypsin, lysozyme, bovine serum albumin, and papain. This review includes polymers such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), polysaccharides, polypeptides, and other synthetic (vinyl) polymers. From the discussed literature we attempt to extract tentative general trends observed between state-of-the-art methods of preparing protein–polymer conjugates and the activity of the conjugate.

Sustained gastrointestinal activity of dendronized polymer–enzyme conjugates

Methods to stabilize and retain enzyme activity in the gastrointestinal tract are investigated rarely because of the difficulty of protecting proteins from an environment that has evolved to promote their digestion. Preventing the degradation of enzymes under these conditions, however, is critical for the development of new protein-based oral therapies. Here we show that covalent conjugation to polymers can stabilize orally administered therapeutic enzymes at different locations in the gastrointestinal tract. Architecturally and functionally diverse polymers are used to protect enzymes sterically from inactivation and to promote interactions with mucin on the stomach wall. Using this approach the in vivo activity of enzymes can be sustained for several hours in the stomach and/or in the small intestine. These findings provide new insight and a firm basis for the development of new therapeutic and imaging strategies based on orally administered proteins using a simple and accessible technology.

Tracking the Bioreduction of Disulfide‐Containing Cationic Dendrimers

Disulfides enhance the transfection efficacy and reduce the toxicity of cationic gene delivery polymers. A quantitative analysis is provided of the bioreduction of a dynamic bioreducible dendritic polycationic probe in four cell lines. Such knowledge is indispensible for understanding and optimizing bioreducible drug and gene delivery systems.

Interplay of chemical microenvironment and redox environment on thiol-disulfide exchange kinetics.

The interplay between the chemical microenvironment surrounding disulfides and the redox environment of the media on thiol-disulfide exchange kinetics was examined by using a peptide platform. Exchange kinetics of up to 34 cysteine-containing peptides were measured in several redox buffers. The electrostatic attraction/repulsion between charged peptides and reducing agents such as glutathione was found to have a very pronounced effect on thiol-disulfide exchange kinetics (differences of ca. three orders of magnitude). Exchange kinetics could be directly correlated to peptide charge over the entire range examined. This study highlights the possibility of finely and predictably tuning thiol-disulfide exchange, and demonstrates the importance of considering both the local environment surrounding the disulfide and the nature of the major reducing species present in the environment for which their use is intended (e.g., in drug delivery systems, sensors, etc).

Complex single-chain polymer topologies locked by positionable twin disulfide cyclic bridges

Oligomers containing the peptide sequence cysteine-any-cysteine (CXC) were attached, at specific locations, to a linear chain of polystyrene. The polymer-bound peptide motifs were then oxidized under dilute conditions to afford a complex bio-hybrid bi-cyclic topology via intramolecular twin disulfide bridge formation.

Twin disulfides for orthogonal disulfide pairing and the directed folding of multicyclic peptides

Multicyclic peptides are emerging as an exciting platform for drug and targeted ligand discovery owing to their expected greater target affinity/selectivity/stability versus linear or monocyclic peptides. However, although the precise pairing of cysteine residues in proteins is routinely achieved in nature, the rational pairing of cysteine residues within polypeptides is a long-standing challenge for the preparation of multicyclic species containing several disulfide bridges. Here, we present an efficient and straightforward approach for directing the intermolecular and intramolecular pairing of cysteine residues within peptides using a minimal CXC motif. Orthogonal disulfide pairing can be exploited in complex redox media to rationally produce dimeric peptides and bi/tricyclic peptides from fully reduced peptides containing 1-6 cysteine residues. This strategy, which does not rely on extensive manipulation of the primary sequence, post-translational modification or protecting groups, should greatly benefit the development of multicyclic peptide therapeutics and targeting ligands.