Construction of Protein-Polymer Conjugates through Au(III)-Mediated S-Arylation

Project Description

Proteins drugs are important, with over thirty FDA-approved protein-based medicines. Polymers (plastics) are often conjugated to therapeutic proteins to form protein-polymer conjugates, promoting stability during storage and allowing the medicine to act longer in the human body. With the use of recently developed gold reagents, polymers are attached to proteins at a specific amino acid called cysteine in high yields. At the BioPACIFIC-MIP, a library of protein-block copolymer conjugates will rapidly be constructed using these gold reagents. Usually the synthesis of protein-polymer conjugates is slow and it can take several days to synthesize and purify one. The automated instrumentation allows for the rapid synthesis of hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and stimuli-responsive polymers and their conjugation to a model protein, with the potential for hundreds to be made in a few weeks. Therefore, this project will provide the community with a fast way to make protein-polymer conjugates for study. It is envisioned that this approach will be generalized to a wide range of proteins and polymers to broaden the scope of accessible protein-block copolymers.

Instruments