SYNTHESIS OF POLY(5,5-DIMETHYL-1,3-DIOXAN-2-ONE)BY LIPASE-CATALYZED RING-OPENING POLYMERIZATION

Porcine pancreas lipase (PPL) and PPL immobilized on narrow distributed micron-sized glass beads wereemployed successfully for the ring-opening polymerization of 5, 5-dimethyl-1, 3-dioxan-2-one (DTC) for the first time.Different polymerization conditions such as enzyme concentration and reaction temperature were studied. Immobilized PPLexhibits higher activity than native PPL. Along wth the increasing enzyme concentration, the molecular weigh of resultingPDTC decreases. PPL immobilized on narrow distributed micron-sized glass beads has outstanding recyclability. For thethird recycle time, immobilized PPL exhibits the highest catalytic activity and with high activity even after the fifth recyletime for the synthesis of PDTC. The ~1H-NMR spectra indicate that decarboxylation does not occur during the ring-openingpolymerization.

Enzymatic Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Amphiphilic Triblock Copolymer Poly(p-dioxanone-co-5-benzyloxytrimethylene carbonate)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)

Novel amphiphilic triblock copolymer poly（p-dioxanone-co-5-benzyloxytrimethylene carbonate）-block-poly（ethylene glycol）-block-poly（p-dioxanone-co-5-benzyloxytrimethylene carbonate） （p（PDO-co-BTMC）-b-PEG-b-p（PDO-co-BTMC）） was successfully synthesized using immobilized porcine pancreas lipase on porous silica particles （IPPL） as the catalyst for the fLrSt time. 1H NMR, 13C NMR and GPC analysis were used to confirm the structures of resulting copolymers. The molecular weight （Mn） of the copolymer with feed ratio of 69：20：11 （BTMC： PDO： PEG ） was 31300 g/mol and the polydispersity was 1.85, while the Mn decreased to 25000 g/mol and polydispersity of 1.93 with the feed ratio of 50：40：10.

Enzymatic Synthesis and Characterization of Biodegradable Poly(w-pentadecalactone-co-ε-caprolactone)Copolymers

As an alternative biodegradable aliphatic polyester,poly(w-pentadecalactone-co-ε-caprolactone)copolymer was synthesized via enzymatic ring-opening polymerization.A new biocatalyst,Candida antarctica lipase B,immobilized onto rice husk ash was used for catalysis.Reactions were carried out at various temperatures and periods for varied copolymer compositions in order to obtain the highest molecular weight copolymer.The best reaction parameters were found to be 80℃ and 6 hours and molecular weights increased proportionally with the amount of w-pentadecalactone(w-PDL).The molecular structure of copolymer with 75%weight ratio of w-PDL(Mn=19720 g/mol)was characterized by proton and carbon nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies(^1H-NMR and ^13C-NMR).Thermal properties of the same copolymer and homopolymers were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC)and thermogravimetric analysis(TGA).Improved thermal features were shown by addition of w-PDL to the structure and compared with poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL).Consequently,poly(w-pentadecalactone-co-ε-caprolactone)copolymers were found to be good alternatives to widely used polyester,PCL,with their rapid polymerization tendency,higher molecular weights,and improved thermal features.

Biocatalytic Synthesis of Fluorescent Conjugated Polyserotonin

Polyserotonin was enzymatically synthesized using Horseradish peroxidase(HRP)as the catalyst.This novel conjugated polymer exhibited good fluorescent properties with significantly higher Stokes shift than its monomer.The enzymatic polymerization eliminated the need for extensive purification of the product(typically necessary for the removal of residual metal catalyst)allowing the product to be naturally fluorescent as synthesized.The reaction was monitored using UV-Vis spectrophotometry and the polymers were characterized using Fluorescence,Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR)and Thermogravimetry.The possibility of using polyserotonin for the detection of nitro-aromatic compounds,including 2,4-dinitrotoluene(DNT)and trinitrotoluene(TNT),through fluorescence quenching at parts per million levels in solution has also been demonstrated.

Metal-free synthesis of amphiphilic functional polycarbonates

Amphiphilic block copolymers of poly（5-benzyloxy trimethylene carbonate） （PBTMC） and poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG） were synthesized through enzymatic polymerization using immobilized porcine pancreas lipase （IPPL）. The obtained copolymers with different compositions were characterized by GPC and IH NMR. The copolymer composition was in agreement with the feed ratio. The molecular weight of the copolymers showed an increasing trend with the decrease of PEG contents. MiceUes of the copolymers were formed by dialysis procedure, and characterized by transmission electron microscopy （TEM）.

Performance Comparison of Commercial and Home-Made Lipases for Synthesis of Poly(δ-Valerolactone)Homopolymers

Novozyme 435,which is the commercially available immobilized form of Candida antarctica lipase B,has been successfully conducted ring opening polymerization of lactones in organic solvents.In this paper,it was aimed to introduce an alternative biocatalyst for Novozyme 435.Candida antarctica lipase B immobilized onto rice husk ashes via physical adsorption(with a specific activity of 4.4 U/mg)was prepared in previous studies and used as a biocatalyst for poly(δ-valerolactone)synthesis in the present work.Polymerization reactions were proceeded at various reaction temperatures and periods via both two immobilized enzyme preparations.The resulting products were characterized spectroscopically and thermally.The highest molecular weight(Mn=9010 g/mol)was obtained via Novozyme 435 catalysis at 40℃and 24 hours.The performance of home-made lipase,which resulted in a molecular weight of 8040 g/mol,was close to commercial one.

Dynamic assembly and biocatalysis-selected gelation endow self-compartmentalized multienzyme superactivity

Cellular metabolism in multiple organelles utilizes compartmentalized multienzyme efficient catalysis to realize substance metabolism, energy conversion and immune defenses. The convenient and biomimetic design of artificial multienzymes has become an emerging research topic. Herein, we employ a facile enzyme-initiated radical polymerization to self-anchor multienzyme in cell-like hydrogels with mesoscale compartments. The dynamic assembly of glucose oxidase/cytochrome c(GOx/Cyt c) with methacrylate-modified hyaluronic acid can form nanoaggregates, where only the bound enzyme pairs with the adjacent position can catalyze the polymerization to compartmentalize multienzymes within hydrogel. Consequently, the cascade enzymes within hydrogel display 33.9 times higher activity compared to free enzymes, as well as excellent thermostability and multiple recyclability. The mechanism study indicates that the compartmental effect of the hydrogel and the anchoring effect of Cyt c synergistically enhance GOx/Cyt c activity. According to the density functional theory(DFT) calculation, Cyt c activity increment originates from its ligand changes of Fe(Ⅲ) porphyrin, which has a smaller energy barrier of the catalytic reaction.This study provides a promising strategy for autonomous colocalization of multienzyme in biocompatible hydrogels which can be potentially applied in cascade enzyme induced catalysis applications.