Abstract
Advances in synthetic chemistry have enabled abiotic, sequence defined polymers to imitate the structures and functions once exclusive to DNA. Indeed, the vast library of accessible backbones and pendant-group functionalities afford synthetic polymers an advantage over DNA in emerging applications as they can be tailored for stability or performance. Moreover, novel methodologies for sequencing and conjugation have been leveraged to elevate the versatility of discrete macromolecules. This review highlights abiotic, sequence-defined polymers in their capacity to mimic the primary functions of DNA – data storage and retrieval, sequence-specific self-assembly of duplexes, and replication and synthetic templating of new macromolecules.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 626-651 |
| Number of pages | 26 |
| Journal | Polymer Reviews |
| Volume | 62 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Keywords
- DNA mimicry
- molecular ladder
- replication
- Sequence-defined polymers
- synthetic polymer
- templating
