Invited Talk: Synthesis of Recyclable DNA Triblock Copolymers

Hybrid polymers containing both biological and synthetic segments are advanced materials that have attracted much interest in recent years. In particular, DNA containing block copolymers can find utility in a wide range of biomedical applications. However, synthesis of these hybrid materials, especially ones with complex chain structures remains to be a major challenge. In this contribution, we report the use of a combination of chemical and biological tools to synthesize DNA containing triblock copolymers. The triblocks have all blocks connected by covalent bonds, thus show superior stability against environmental factors that can denature DNA. Furthermore, we incorporate multiple cloning site (MCS) into the DNA block, and show that the different restriction sites can be effectively cut to regenerate diblock copolymers. The recycled diblocks are then reconnected to create new DNA triblocks of different compositions. This recycling process in principle can be repeated many times thus allowing a wide range of block copolymer structures to be prepared from a limited stock of precursor polymers. Collectively, our study presents a new method to prepare DNA triblock copolymers as well as an effective strategy to recycle the block components in generating new materials.