Publications related to Functional polypeptide and hybrid materials: Precision synthesis via alpha-amino acid N-carboxyanhydride polymerization and emerging biomedical applications

The Structural Dispersity of Oligoethylene Glycol-Containing Polymer Brushes Determines Their Interfacial Properties

Harm-Anton Klok, Alberto Ongaro, Irene Filipucci

Ought to their bioinert properties and facile synthesis, poly[(oligoethylene glycol)methacrylate]s (POEGMAs) have been raised as attractive alternatives to poly(ethylene glycols) (PEGs) in an array of (bio)material applications, especially when they are ap ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

New Polymers from Biomass-Derived Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives

Ghezae Tekleab

Polymers play a central role in shaping our world across various fields, but their heavy reliance on petrochemicals poses climate change, environmental and health risks. To address and alleviate these issues, transitioning to sustainable polymers, sourced ...

EPFL2024

Biobased Composites from Eugenol- and Coumarin-Derived Methacrylic Latex and Hemp Nanocellulose: Cross-Linking via [2+2] Photocycloaddition and Barrier Properties

Yves Leterrier, Sara Dalle Vacche

A novel-biobased latex was synthesized by redox-initiated emulsion copolymerization of ethoxy dihydroeugenyl methacrylate with 5 wt % of a photosensitive methacrylate containing a coumarin group. A stable copolymer latex having 16 wt % solids content and a ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Cyclic Peptides for Drug Development

Christian Heinis, Xinjian Ji, Alexander Lund Nielsen

Cyclic peptides are fascinating molecules abundantly found in nature and exploited as molecular format for drug development as well as other applications, ranging from research tools to food additives. Advances in peptide technologies made over many years ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2024

Soft Mechanochemistry of Disulfide-Crosslinked Polymer Networks

Zhao Meng

Mechanochemistry harnesses mechanical force to facilitate chemical reactions. Traditionally, the field of polymer mechanochemistry has used methods to activate chemical bonds, which use forces that are larger than those that are required to break a covalen ...

EPFL2024

Interrupted Polonovski Strategy for the Synthesis of Functionalized Amino Acids and Peptides

Jérôme Waser, Emmanuelle Madeline Dominique Allouche, Christine Alice Jacqueline Marty

The alpha-functionalization of carbamate-protected hydroxylamine glycine derivatives, acting as imine surrogates via an interrupted Polonovski reaction, is described to access functionalized amino acid derivatives. The addition of C, N, O, and S nucleophil ...

2024

Near-Room-Temperature Detection of Aromatic Compounds with Inkjet-Printed Plasticized Polymer Composites

Thomas Maeder, Jürgen Brugger, Mohammadmahdi Kiaee

Chemiresistive gas sensors composed of a thermoplastic polymer matrix and conductive fillers offer various advantages for detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including low power consumption due to near-room-temperature operation, high sensitivity, ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Bottlebrush Dielectric Elastomers with Improved Properties for Actuation

Yeerlan Adeli

Dielectric elastomer actuators (DEA) are elastic capacitors composed of a pair of compliant electrodes and a soft dielectric elastomer film sandwiched in between. This kind of stretchable capacitors can be actuated when charged, can generate electricity fr ...

EPFL2023

Architecturally Diverse Polymer Brushes Prepared via Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization

Sabrina Sant

Polymer brushes, which are polymers anchored to a solid substrate by one chainend, have the ability to modify the properties of an underlying substrate, offering intriguing features such as enhanced lubrication, reduced friction, colloidal stability, and a ...

EPFL2023

Revealing the Formation Dynamics of Janus Polymer Particles: Insights from Experiments and Molecular Dynamics

Philip Robin Loche

Seeded emulsion polymerization is one of the best-known methods for preparing polymer particles with a controlled size, composition, and shape. It first requires the preparation of seed particles, which are then swollen with additional monomer (the same as ...

Amer Chemical Soc2023

Synthesis and application of bifunctional hypervalent iodine reagents for peptide modification

Elija Grinhagena

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are responsible for regulating many biological processes in human bodies. PPIs often have a large binding site and often interact through an alpha helical segment. Therefore, the inhibition of PPIs can be difficult using ...

EPFL2023

Supramolecular Polymer Brushes Grown by Surface-Initiated Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization from Cucurbit[7]uril-based Non-Covalent Initiators

Harm-Anton Klok, Friederike Katharina Metze, Irene Filipucci

Polymer brushes are densely grafted, chain end-tethered assemblies of polymers that can be produced via surface-initiated polymerization. Typically, this is accomplished using initiators or chain transfer agents that are covalently attached to the substrat ...

Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH2023

Tailor-made Piezoelectric Elastomer Materials

Francis Owusu

Recent advancements in miniature devices with higher computational capabilities and ultralow power consumption have accelerated the development of wearable sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters everywhere. The ultimate aim of such a technological revol ...

EPFL2023

Acetal-Stabilized Carbohydrates as Novel Platform Molecules for Renewable Polymer Production

Lorenz Perry Manker

To address the rising demand for plastics, it is essential to create new types of polymers that are both highly recyclable and emit minimal amounts of greenhouse gases. These plastics should be derived from readily available, renewable feedstocks. Such eff ...

EPFL2023

Bioaccumulation and molecular effects of carbamazepine and methylmercury co-exposure in males of Dreissena polymorpha

Dominique Grandjean, Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Claudia Cosio, Nguyên Thiên Kim Lê

Dreissena polymorpha is a bivalve promising for biomonitoring in freshwater ecosystems thanks to its abundance and high filtration activity allowing rapid uptake of toxicants and identification of their negative effects. Nonetheless, we still lack knowledg ...

2023

Single-Molecule Peptide Identification Using Fluorescence Blinking Fingerprints

Pablo Rivera Fuentes, Salome Riccarda Püntener

The ability to identify peptides with single-molecule sensitivity would lead to next-generation proteomics methods for basic research and clinical applications. Existing single-molecule peptide sequencing methods can read some amino acid sequences, but the ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2023

Hypervalent Iodine: New Reagents and Functionalization of Peptides

Eliott Hugo Joran Le Du

Alkynes are found in a multitude of natural or synthetic bioactive compounds. In addition to the capacity of these chemical motifs to impact the physicochemical properties of a molecule of interest, the well-established reactivity of alkynes makes them ide ...

EPFL2023

Lignin, from biomass waste to sustainable materials for food packaging, antiviral coatings and agriculture

Alice Boarino

Our planet has been challenged for years by our reckless use of fossil fuels, which has led to the ongoing climate change and energy crisis. The transition to the use of renewable alternative sources has now became urgent and inevitable. The valorization o ...

EPFL2023

Influence of the molecular weight and physical properties of a thermoplastic polymer on its dynamic wetting behavior

Valentin Rougier

The wetting dynamics of molten thermoplastic polymers, which are known to influence the force balance of the triple line, are not understood properly despite their importance in many industrial processes. In particular, the influence of the molecular weigh ...

Elsevier2023

Incorporation of Lignin in Bio-Based Resins for Potential Application in Fiber-Polymer Composites

Mário Alexandre De Jesus Garrido, Mateus De Assunção Hofmann

Bio-based resins, obtained from renewable raw materials, are a more sustainable alternative to oil-based resins for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The incorporation of lignin in those resins has the potential to enhance their performance. This ...

MDPI2023